On day in which more than 3,000 people were diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, the coronavirus cabinet convened to vote on measures to stop the rise and spread of infection. After evaluating a number of scenarios, the cabinet decided to place heavy restrictions on the country’s reddest cities and neighborhoods throughout the country. In these red zones, movement will be restricted to 500 meters from home, education systems will be closed – except for special education – and entry and exit will be banned for everyone except essential workers. More than 3,000 people were diagnosed with coronavirus on Wednesday – a record since the start of the pandemic. The Health Ministry published the number early Thursday, ahead of the coronavirus cabinet meeting, which began about midday.The number of active patients rose to 23,698, including 426 who are in serious condition, among them 124 who are intubated. More than 9% (3,150) of the 34,324 people screened for the virus on Wednesday tested positive.The death toll is 976.Speaking the day before the cabinet meeting during a visit to the haredi city of Beitar Illit, coronavirus commissioner Prof. Ronni Gamzu said, “Without a significant trend of change by the set date… we will be required to formulate new and broader guidelines, which will significantly disrupt the routine of life – even outside the red cities.“Sometimes, I think there is no choice; we need to make difficult decisions. These decisions are made only to protect your community and not to hurt it.”The number of red cities tops 30. However, the full closure as described will only apply to the top eight communities. The others will be placed under nighttime lock down, the last step before a full closure. Coronavirus commissioner Prof. Ronni Gamzu told The Jerusalem Post Thursday morning that the peak is a result, on the one hand, of the opening of yeshivas two weeks ago for the fall learning period and the continuation of the wedding season in the Arab sector. At the same time, he said that “the real issue is how the general population is involved.”The cabinet is considering a number of options, ranging from a complete general lockdown to further increasing the number of people screened each day in an effort to find the sick and cut off the infection chain.Also under discussion is closing down the education system, closures on red cities only or even night closures. A final point of discussion could center on once again closing down the skies, meaning requiring people who travel to enter isolation for 14 days – even from green countries.The cabinet is expected to publish a final list of red cities on Thursday. In addition to the 23 cities that were named earlier in the week, the cabinet is reportedly adding Bnei Brak and several neighborhoods in Jerusalem, as well as Haifa, Ofakim, Netivot and Kiryat Ye’arim.
The full list of red zones and restrictions have not yet been decided, but Israeli media has reported that Health Minister Yuli Edelstein and Gamzu are going to advocate for locking down the “reddest” cities and placing a nighttime curfew on the others.
Israeli media reported Wednesday about a back-to-school party in Beersheba at which dozens of teenagers gathered without keeping restrictions, such as wearing masks or social distancing.
Later, it was discovered that one of the students was infected with coronavirus and the entire grade of 107 students had to enter isolation.Similar parties, gatherings and even concerts took place in the Hefer Valley region and Dimona.A senior official in the coronavirus cabinet told KAN news that the new data “will force the cabinet to decide on significant restrictions in red cities. The new figure may give impetus to a renewed demand for lockdown or extensive nationwide restrictions.”Another cabinet member, Minister of Science and Technology Izhar Shay, cautioned that “we must prevent the flooding of hospitals and reduce the number of patients,” he told Israeli media. He agreed that in order to prevent extensive countrywide restrictions, greater restrictions – and enforcement of them – must be implemented. “Extend the closure of educational institutions; reduce the number of meetings between people,” he recommended. “It is in our hands,” Shay said. “It is a virus that attacks those who are not careful.”On Wednesday, Gamzu visited the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) town of Beitar Illit, where he warned leaders that “Without a significant change in the extent of morbidity in the red cities, we will not be able to avoid a full closure.”According to Gamzu, some 14% of the people screened for the virus in the city tested positive. Across the country, about 28% of infections are in Arab society and 22% are among ultra-Orthodox. The commissioner added that 80% of the new infections are in haredi cities – among them, hundreds of yeshiva students.The mayor of Karmiel, where more than 220 students were infected in a single yeshiva, said Thursday that he hired a project manager to oversee the institution and installed security cameras to ensure they don’t exit and no one enters.Mayor Moshe Kuninski said that the role of the manager is to coordinate between the yeshiva, the Home Front Command and the Health Ministry. He noted that of the students who were diagnosed with coronavirus, only three of them local residents. The boys are doing well, he added. Source
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