Gov’t sets more ‘restricted’ areas as coronavirus cases soar

504 new patients in a single day * Committee to meet Wednesday to consider additional closures

By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN, TZVI JOFFRE
A man wears a face mask as he walks in a market in Ashkelon while Israel tightened a national stay-at-home policy following the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ashkelon, Israel March 20, 2020. (photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)
A man wears a face mask as he walks in a market in Ashkelon while Israel tightened a national stay-at-home policy following the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ashkelon, Israel March 20, 2020.
(photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)
Several more Israeli cities were designated as red zones and put on lockdown on Tuesday, as the number of coronavirus patients surged to 504 in a single day.
As of Tuesday night, there have been 21,512 Israelis known to have had the virus. Currently, there are 5,335 patients, including 40 in serious condition.
The city of Elad and a number of neighborhoods in Tiberias have been designated as restricted zones by the Ministerial Committee on Declaring Restricted Zones, which is headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The affected Tiberias neighborhoods are Ramat Tiberias Bet, Ramat Tiberias Gimmel, the 200 neighborhood, Tiberias Illit and Ben-Gurion.
The declaration will be valid for seven days, from 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 24, until 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 1.
The committee considered closing some other cities and will discuss their designation on Wednesday at a follow-up meeting, Netanyahu said.
“The surest way to stop the pandemic is for all citizens to wear masks and maintain distance,” he added.
In Tiberias, there are 60 active patients, about 133.5 for every 100,000 people, the Health Ministry said, adding that the rate of infection hit 122.2% in the last few days.
Elad has 83 active patients, about 174.6 for every 100,000 people, and the morbidity rate in the last seven days is 102.4%.
Entry and exit from the restricted areas will be prohibited, except in extreme cases and for work, or to allow high-school students to take their matriculation exams.
“The second wave of coronavirus is marked by a widespread, non-targeted outbreak of the virus,” said Dr. Erez Barenboim, director of Assuta Ashdod Medical Center. “The attempt to reduce the spread through closing one or the other community is less effective in this round than before. As long as there is no vaccine, the most effective tool is personal responsibility: wearing masks, social distancing and hygiene.”
Much more discipline and enforcement is needed, he said.
“It is a matter of life or death,” Barenboim said.
If the rate of infection, which is about 8% per day, continues, then Israel could have some 1,000 coronavirus patients by early July, according to a report by the IDF Intelligence Corps.
Among the other cities being discussed for closure is Bat Yam, which has 179 sick people.
Other cities with a high rate of infection are Bnei Brak (581 cases) and Tel Aviv (474).
Currently, there are infected people in 75 cities across Israel, according to the Health Ministry.
The Education Ministry reported 789 students and faculty members were sick with coronavirus on Tuesday morning, some 21,969 were in isolation and 216 schools were closed.
Middle and high schools have already ended classes. Preschools and elementary schools finish on June 30.