Lockdown weighed in northern Arab town as ministry warns of virus outbreak there

The Health Ministry on Wednesday warned of a coronavirus outbreak centered on an Arab town in northern Israel with a rising number of COVID-19 cases, and its mayor said it could be put on lockdown

“The Health Ministry raised the possibility of a lockdown and if there is a need we won’t oppose this because the main thing is the health of the residents,” Ahmed Dabbah told the Haaretz daily.

The ministry said the number of infections in Deir al-Asad was “very high,” with the number of confirmed cases in the town of over 12,000 people jumping from five to 23 within a day. There were another eight cases in total in the nearby towns of Nahf, Bi’ina and Majd al-Krum.

According to Haaretz police have set up checkpoints and were already preventing non-residents from entering the communities, though residents were not being prevented from leaving at this time.

Besides the 31 total infections in the area, the ministry warned there were hundreds more people who were potentially exposed to the virus. “Therefore, the ministry is instructing residents and the public in Deir al-Asad and the environs… to remain in their homes and to maintain the instructions on isolating and social distancing,” it said in a statement.

Dabbah met earlier with representatives of the Health Ministry, Interior Ministry, police and the IDF’s Home Front Command, after which he said it was decided that those with the virus would be taken out of the community and that a hotel in Nahariya would be rented to house them.

Karmiel, a predominantly Jewish city neighboring the four communities, said it would place checkpoints at all entrances to the city following the Health Ministry announcement.

The rise in confirmed cases in Deir al-Asad came after a mobile “drive thru” testing center was opened Monday in Karmiel, possibly accounting for the increase in infections.

MK Ahmad Tibi, head of the predominantly Arab Joint List’s health committee, said Wednesday that an agreement had been reached between the Deir al-Asad local council and the Magen David Adom emergency services to immediately open a testing center in the town.

“We are all mobilized to fight the spread of the coronavirus and the Health Ministry’s instructions, to stay at home and not to congregate, must be followed,” Tibi said in a statement, calling on residents with symptoms to get tested.

There have so far been some 510 coronavirus cases among Arab Israelis, according to the Ynet news site, accounting for just over four percent of the 12,200 infections reported as of Wednesday morning.

However, there have been complaints of insufficient access to testing in some areas with large Arab populations, which the Health Ministry has tried to address by opening mobile test sites.

As of Tuesday, the two Arab communities with the highest infection rates are Jisr az-Zarqa and Daburiyya, which last week closed roads connecting to neighboring communities to prevent the virus from spreading further.

Jisr az-Zarqa, one of Israel’s densest and poorest communities, has at least 35 confirmed virus cases, while Daburiyya has 24.

According to the Health Ministry’s latest figures, there have been 12,200 infections and 126 deaths from the virus in Israel.

Joint List MK Yousef Jabareen called for expanding coronavirus testing for Arab Israelis Wednesday.

“I again warn about the worrying and severe under-testing in Arab communities that could lead to a disaster of unprecedented proportions,” Jabareen wrote on Twitter.

He said additional testing was needed among Arabs “so we can get a better picture [of the infection] rate relative to the general population.”