Edelstein said to back lockdown in high infection areas as virus surges

Health Minister Yuli Edelstein will support immediate lockdowns and school closures in areas with a high rate of coronavirus infections, Hebrew-language media reported Wednesday, as new daily cases topped 2,000 and the number of deaths was quickly approaching 1,000.

During Thursday’s planned coronavirus cabinet meeting, Edelstein will reportedly back coronavirus czar Ronni Gamzu’s demand for a lockdown in so-called “red” areas, a demand that has been resisted for months by the government due to its economic toll.

A nationwide lockdown during the High Holiday period beginning September 18 will again be discussed, according to the reports, but a decision on that is expected to only be made around September 10.

The Health Ministry said Wednesday that the total number of coronavirus cases in Israel since the pandemic began had risen to 119,627, with 2,386 new cases diagnosed in the previous 24 hours. Of the 864 people hospitalized with the virus, there were 423 people in serious condition, with 114 on ventilators. Another 171 people were in moderate condition and the rest had mild or no symptoms.

The ministry said 26,994 test results came back Tuesday, with a positive rate of 8.1 percent. Testing numbers appeared to return to normal following a short strike by public sector lab technicians earlier in the week.

The death toll stood at 963, six more than on Tuesday night.

Nineteen deaths were recorded in the 24 hours between Monday night and Tuesday night. Monday saw the highest-yet single day death toll, with 20 fatalities from midnight to midnight, official numbers showed. Daily fatalities had averaged around 14 a day throughout August.

According to ministry data, 54 people have died of the virus since Sunday, and over 100 in the past week. It took 131 days from the first fatality on March 21 to reach 500 deaths on July 30, and just 34 days since then to nearly double the figure.

At the current pace, Israel will reach the grim milestone of 1,000 deaths over the weekend.

The figures came after Israel pressed ahead with opening schools on Tuesday, despite a rise in daily infections, and amid fears that the start of the new school year could intensify the spread of the deadly disease.

However, already on Tuesday there were reports that some schools in red zones had ignored the closure order.

Israel’s swift reopening of schools in May — after nearly eradicating the disease with strict lockdowns over the preceding months — was seen as a serious factor in the marked resurgence of the pandemic at that time.

Israeli officials have balked at reimposing wide-ranging virus restrictions, instead implementing a system meant to target only cities with high infection rates — the so-called “red cities” under Gamzu’s “traffic light” plan.

Channel 12 news reported Tuesday that Gamzu was working on formulating new restrictions for those cities and local councils, which may soon include the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak.

On Monday, Bnei Brak became the second city, after Jerusalem, to record over 10,000 infections since the start of the pandemic. The Tel Aviv suburb was the first city put under a strict cordon in March and April as Israel fought the first wave of the pandemic.

“A lockdown is on the table” in these areas, the TV network reported, though ultra-Orthodox politicians will likely strongly resist the plan.

Twenty-three cities and towns have been classified as “red” under the Health Ministry’s new designation system approved earlier this week. Most are Arab-majority locales, and a handful are ultra-Orthodox areas, with a number of exceptions.

According to the plan, gatherings are highly restricted and schools are closed in those areas. Less restrictive guidelines are in place for cities marked as “orange” or “yellow,” while the vast majority of cities, marked green, have only few restrictions on business operations or congregating in public spaces.