Prof. Ash was accompanied by head of the coronavirus control center in the Arab sector Ayman Saif.
The purpose of the meeting, in which representatives from Israel's Home Front Command and the Israel Police participated, was to encourage the public to continue to adhere to coronavirus regulations and to call on the municipalities to cooperate in the campaign to spread information about the coronavirus vaccine.
During the meeting, Ash touched on the vaccination efforts saying that "we set out on this mission less than a week ago, and we have made a lot of progress. We already have upwards of 200,000 people vaccinated, but there is a long road ahead, and we need cooperation between the local municipalities, healthcare providers and the Home Front Command to increase the vaccines given, especially in places that are not big cities like Baka al-Gharbiya."
Ash also said that he "agrees to the mayor's suggestion to set up a joint center and calls on healthcare providers to cooperate."
Ash visited Umm el-Fahm later on Saturday touring a vaccination site at which multiple healthcare providers are providing vaccinations for the citizens under their care. Ash called on all residents over the age of 60 to get vaccinated."There were many sick people here," said Ash addressing citizens of the city "We want to prevent the continued morbidity. Come get vaccinated here at the joint vaccine center for all the providers. It is very important."
Almost 210,000 Israelis over the age of 60, medical professionals and assisted living staff have received the coronavirus vaccine as of Friday morning, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said.
Over 74,000 vaccinations were conducted on Thursday. Edelstein promised that the rate of vaccinations would increase in the coming days, with a goal of inoculating 100,000 people a day.Maayan Hoffman and Tzvi Joffre contributed to this report.