New coronavirus cases top 1,500 as cabinet prepares to meet

“For every two more days in which the existing infection rate is maintained, a full day of lockdown will be required,” the report cautioned.ASH VISITED the Arab towns of Mashhad and Shfaram on Saturday, the latter which has been labeled a red zone, and addressed the growing infection specifically among the Arab sector.

Prof. Nachman Ash in Mashhad on December 5, 2020 (Credit: Health Ministry)

In contrast to the knowledge center’s report, Ash said that in that sector there is a rise in morbidity among teens and young adults.“When I entered the settlement, I saw a massive group of young people without masks, not social distancing,” Ash said, during his trip to Mashhad. “This is a problem and it is reflected in the data.“Take care of yourselves,” he urged. “It is important, because otherwise, you will infect older people.”Ash also spoke about the upcoming holidays during his visit to Shfaram, saying that this year, Christmas would have to be celebrated “differently.”“Unlike in previous years, gatherings should be reduced to nuclear families; there should not be big celebrations, no gatherings,” he instructed. “If we make sure that the virus does not spread, we will get out of it quickly – and next year we will be able to celebrate joyously again.”Finally, he also discussed the need for working with the Israel Police.“We need you to communicate, but there is no choice: We also need the police to enforce [Health Ministry] restrictions,” Ash said, noting that in Shfaram he saw that proper roadblocks were open and people were being screened and questioned on entry and exit. But he said the Police also had to step up its presence inside the town and that people should be advised not to walk freely and spread the virus.“We don’t only want the virus to not spread to neighboring towns, but also not within the city itself,” he said.For decades, there has been under-policing, negligence and discrimination by Israel Police against Arab society, Amnon Be’eri-Sulitzeanu, co-CEO of the Abraham Initiatives, told The Jerusalem Post. He said this has left the community in what some have called a state of emergency – which is becoming more apparent to the rest of the country during the coronavirus crisis.According to the most recent report by the organization, since the beginning of the year, some 85 Arab citizens have been murdered in Israel in circumstances related to violence and crime. Of those, 67 were killed using firearms – many of them illegal. The number goes up to over 100 when the murders of non-citizens are included.Already at the start of the pandemic, “there was no trust in the police and no policing for the benefit of the community,” Be’eri-Sulitzeanu said. “There was a lot of suspicion; a lot of alienation.”In the first wave, as the Home Front Command and the Police entered Arab communities to help them reduce infection, the sector at first found it refreshing and comforting. “For many of the Arabs, it was comforting,” he said. “They felt that ‘the government cares about our lives.’ But that eroded very fast.”Around 40% of new daily cases are from within the Arab sector. At 21% of the population, that means they are getting infected at nearly twice the rate of everyone else. They continue to host mass weddings and other gatherings. And when they return from red countries, many fail to isolate.The police are aware of the tension and are reluctant to confront the population – because they know that if they try to enforce against the virus, riots could erupt. The police want to stay out of trouble, Be’eri-Sulitzeanu contended.MEANWHILE, health officials are expected to raise several options for stopping the spread of the virus on Sunday. These could include forcing people to isolate in coronavirus hotels upon their return from Turkey. Until now, the ministry said, two-thirds of those returning from red states who are supposed to enter isolation don’t.

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