Israel hit a record for the most people diagnosed with coronavirus in a single day, the Health Ministry reported Friday morning.
Some 1,504 people tested positive on Thursday, the same day that the government labeled a new group of cities as “restricted zones.” These include areas of Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, Beitar Illit, Kiryat Malachi, Lod and Ramla
In Jerusalem alone, about 100 new patients were diagnosed in the last day and more than 1,200 have been diagnosed in the holy city in the past week.
As a result of the spike in cases, the Jerusalem municipality announced on Friday that its designated situation room to plan strategies for combating coronavirus will be re-opened and operational starting Sunday.
The designated situation room will focus on transferring infected patients and their families to coronavirus hotels across the country and will include representatives from the IDF Home Front Command, Israel Police, Magen David Adom, local health funds and relevant community administrations.
The purpose of the coronavirus situation room, according to a message issued by the municipality, is to stop the chain of infections and isolate the infected, as to prevent further spreading of the virus.
As of Friday, at 5:30 p.m., there were 17,302 people who were actively infected with the virus – though the country topped 36,000 cases since the pandemic started. Some 351 people have died.
Overnight, the Home Front Command managed to evacuate nearly 40 sick people from Beit Shemesh and relocate them to state-run “coronavirus hotels,” a spokesperson for the city said.
However, the fact that the government placed restrictions on so many haredi (ultra-Orthodox) cities, caused uproar among the community.
On Friday, MK Yisrael Eichler called upon his fellow haredi MKs to quit the Knesset until lockdowns on haredi neighborhoods are lifted, according to Israeli media.
Eichler referred to the lockdowns as “selective” lockdowns of haredi neighborhoods and called on ministers from haredi parties to simultaneously quit the government until they are lifted.
“That’s the only way for Netanyahu to realize that haredi human rights can’t be ignored,” Eichler said.
“The coronavirus does not differential us. It hurts everyone,” MK Rafi Peretz said later in a Facebook post, encouraging unity and compassion.
“This is a difficult time, the State of Israel has been in crisis for several months,” he wrote. “The health and economic uncertainty are very great. No one wants to get infected; we all want to stay healthy, and no one wants to lose their livelihood. The situation we are in is difficult for all of us.
“It’s a time to think about each other, to be considerate, to empathize,” he continued, “and to keep the rules for public health. Together, we can beat coronavirus.”
The country is continuing to crackdown on people who break the Health Ministry directives.
As part of the nationwide efforts to enforce the coronavirus restrictions, police located and dispersed a mass party in Ben Shemen forest, issuing fines to dozens of participants who were not wearing masks and detaining the party’s organizers, Israel Police said Friday.
The party was reportedly attended by hundreds of teenagers, who, after noticing the police officers, started chanting, “Cops! Put your masks on!”
Police also found alcohol bottles and drugs suspected to be marijuana at the scene.
While many managed to escape, some participants were fined for violating the restrictions and not wearing masks, and the party’s organizers were detained for questioning.
Also, on Friday, an advisor to MK Orna Barbivai tested positive for the coronavirus and she and her team entered quarantine.
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