The recent dramatic rise in the number of coronavirus cases in Israel is a "disaster," the coordinator of Israel's efforts to stop the spread of the virus Professor Ronni Gamzu said Tuesday at a press briefing, at which he also indicated that he might resign from his position due to the lack of public cooperation.
"We are seeing something very clear and very worrying in the Arab sector, and it is pervasive – Tira, Umm al-Faham, Kafr Qasim, Sakhnin, and Nazareth," Gamzu said, citing Arab communities recently added to the list of "red" cities, under the government's new "traffic light" system.
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"These communities are seeking a significant number of new cases weekly. In the Arab sector, weddings and parties are still taking place. The heads of local authorities see that and feel uncomfortable. This creates infection," Gamzu said.
The response from Arab leaders was mixed. MK Ahmad Tibi said, "There has indeed been an outbreak in recent weeks because of weddings, and a refusal to follow instructions."
According to Tibi, Arab leaders "publicly talk about following directives. Unfortunately, many Jews and Arabs who hold weddings, and without masks, serve as a hotbed for the virus to spread."
However, Gamzu also addressed the issue of the virus in the Haredi sector. "I've seen a rise [in cases] in the past few days, adding that any decisions made regarding that population were "very complicated."
Gamzu said that he expected that some of the worst-hit cities and towns in Israel would not start the school year on Sept. 1.
"We want to start the school year safely," he said.
Gamzu warned that he would quit if he wasn't given the "tools" with which to do his job. "No one can work like this," he said.
The Corona cabinet is scheduled to meet on Sunday afternoon to discuss new public health measures.
Meanwhile, between midnight Monday and midnight Tuesday, 1,943 new cases were confirmed by 33,272 tests. The number of confirmed cases since the start of the epidemic in Israel stood at 107,341 as of Wednesday morning.
A total of 855 patients were hospitalized, 430 of whom were listed in serious condition, including 118 on ventilators. Another 161 were listed in moderate condition. The death toll from coronavirus stood at 867 as of Wednesday, after two more people succumbed to the virus after midnight Tuesday.
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In a related development, there is concern that a serological survey conducted by the Health Ministry in conjunction with Israel's health care providers does not accurately represent the country's population.
A report by the Corona National Knowledge and Information Center examined the methodology of the serological testing conducted on Israelis to identify COVID antibodies (signifying exposure to the virus, rather than a test for the presence of the virus itself) and found that it under-represents Israel's young population, the north of the country, and the Arab sector.
The serological survey was conducted in 191 communities, 13 of which were dealing with an outbreak at the time. It was originally supposed to have launched in early June, but in effect only started on June 29. By Aug. 9, 48,644 Israelis had participated, only two-thirds of the target 75,000.
Knesset researchers were unable to receive answers from the Health Ministry about whether or not it had rectified the under-representation.
