Virus czar warns Arab communities could see hundreds of deaths within weeks

In a meeting with Arab leaders on Saturday, coronavirus czar Prof. Ronni Gamzu warned there could be hundreds of deaths in the communities within weeks if infection rates continued to rise, as Israel approached the grim landmark of 1,000 deaths.

“Every day there are around 750 new infections in Arab communities and that will increase to 800. If you take half a percent, or 1%, within three or four weeks — that is the statistic — hospitalized in serious condition, what does that mean? It starts at four or five a day, then reaches dozens and could even get to hundreds of deaths per day,” Gamzu said at the meeting in the Druze town of Daliat el-Carmel in northern Israel.

“It is clear this is going to happen. Without trying to scare people, this is the coronavirus. This virus is not something to laugh about. It can lead to serious illness and death,” Gamzu said.

However, he sounded a note of cautious optimism saying that he believed the local leadership understood the seriousness of the problem and now it was up to citizens to take precautions and obey regulations.

Gamzu also said that he expected the government to discuss increasing fines and issuing closure orders for event venues that are still holding weddings and other large gatherings.

“The increase in infections in Arab communities stems from a kind of indifference, a thought that the disease has passed and one can return to normal life,” Gamzu said, according to the Walla news site.

Gamzu also addressed the political pressure he was under, saying that the pandemic “needs to be managed professionally, not politically.”

Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of public health at the Health Ministry, told the local leaders that she believed that people were complacent as they didn’t know that many of those in critical condition with COVID-19 were people in their 30s and 40s.

“There is probably a lack of understanding of this disease. There are young people aged in their 30s and 40s,” she said. “They are in a serious condition, critical. They are on ventilators,” she said. “It’s no longer 80-year-olds with four underlying health conditions and terminal cancer. It is young people. People don’t understand this and they are inviting 1,000 people to weddings.”

The meeting came a day after Gamzu clarified on Friday that the sweeping new restrictions approved by the so-called coronavirus cabinet in “red” localities with high infection rates would not include full lockdown measures in all these areas.

However, he stressed the lockdown measures could be expanded to other areas and said a final decision would be made over the weekend and approved by ministers on Sunday. The new restrictions are set to take effect on Monday.

The measures under discussion for “red” cities include banning entry and exit, keeping residents within 500 meters of their homes, stopping public transportation, and closing non-essential businesses and all schools save for daycare facilities and special education programs.

Though there is no official word yet on which cities will be locked down, the 30 cities and towns currently designated as “red” are: Nazareth, Bnei Brak, Tiberias, Abu Snan, Umm al-Fahm, Elad, Aabalin, Buqata, Beit Jann, Jaljulya, Jatt, Daliyat al-Karmel, Zemer, Taibe, Tira, Kasra-Samia, Ka’abiyye-Tabbash-Hajajre, Kafr Bara, Kafr Kanna, Kafr Qassem, Lakiya, Sheikh Danun, Maale Iron, Ein Mahil, Assafiya, Arara, Fureidis, Qalansawe, Rechasim and Kfar Aza.

The Kan public broadcaster reported Friday that there was a possibility that Netivot, Ashdod, Beit Shemesh and Rahat could be added to the list as virus cases surged in those localities.

Many of the towns on the list are predominantly Arab and ultra-Orthodox, two segments of the population that have been hit hard by the virus.

Israel closed in on a grim landmark of 1,000 coronavirus deaths on Friday as five more people died, bringing the country’s death toll since the start of the pandemic to 993.

The number of total cases climbed by 2,516 over the past 24 hours, according to Health Ministry figures updated Friday evening.

Nine more patients were added to the list of seriously ill since Thursday night, bringing the total number to 426, with 123 of them on ventilators. Another 124 people were in moderate condition and the rest had mild or no symptoms.

The Health Ministry said 35,351 tests for coronavirus were administered Thursday and that 8% of those processed came back positive — a slight drop from Thursday’s number, which stood at over 9%.

Earlier Friday, Health Ministry director-general Chezy Levy told Kan public radio that the potential reimposition of a nationwide lockdown was still on the table, a day after ministers were presented with research predicting hospitals could be overwhelmed within two weeks as the number of virus cases creeps upward.

According to figures aired Thursday by Israeli television, Israel has the highest rate of new infections per capita in the world.