Virus czar says he would have liked to force Israelis to get tested
Outgoing coronavirus czar Ronni Gamzu said Saturday he would be happy to be able to force Israelis to get tested for coronavirus in order to better control the pandemic, though he noted that this was not currently possible from a legal perspective.
“I would be very happy if the legal framework were found that would allow me to obligate [people]. Tests and medical treatment can not be forced. That is the situation in Israel,” Gamzu said while touring the Arab town of Kafr Qara, near Haifa.
Gamzu said the Arab public needed to do more to bring down infection numbers, which remain higher than in the general population. He particularly highlighted the ongoing holding of weddings against health regulations that ban large gatherings, citing a trend of people crossing into Palestinian Authority territory to participate in weddings there.
“We will consider closing the crossings if there is no other solution,” Gamzu said. Weddings “can not go forward without there being more funerals.”
Gamzu’s deputy for the Arab public, Ayman Sif, noted that the current coronavirus test positivity rate in the Arab public is at 6 percent, while in the larger population it stands at 2%.
Gamzu is set to be replaced by Nachman Ash in the coming days. Ash was also present at Saturday’s tour.
As of Friday afternoon, Israel had 8,868 active coronavirus cases out of a total of 318,402 positive tests since the pandemic began.
There were 324 people in serious condition, of whom 146 were on ventilators, and 102 in moderate condition. The death toll stood at 2,644.
Israel has seen its daily infection rate drop in recent weeks from thousands, during the height of the country’s second wave, to a few hundred a day.
On Friday, ministers approved local lockdown measures on two northern communities due to high coronavirus infection rates there. The areas declared “restricted zones” were the Druze town of Buq’ata in the Golan Heights and an ultra-Orthodox part of Hazor Haglilit.
According to the Health Ministry, the two locales currently have some of the highest case rates per capita in Israel. Entry and exit to both communities will be severely restricted, with all residents being permitted to leave their homes only for essential needs like buying food or medicine. All schools and extra-curricular activities will be closed except for children up to age 6.
On Thursday, ministers approved enforcing lockdown measures on the Druze town of Mas’ade in the Golan Heights and extended restrictions on the Druze town of Majdal Shams.
On Wednesday ministers voted to allow stores to reopen on Sunday, over the objections of health officials who have urged a slow and gradual reopening of the economy, schools and more. Stores will open for business with a maximum of four customers allowed in at a time, and in compliance with coronavirus regulations.
Health Minister Yuli Edelstein and Gamzu both pushed back against easing the restrictions due to the basic reproduction number, or the rate of new cases stemming from each coronavirus infection.
Gamzu warned that Israel’s infection reproduction was at 0.88, and over 1 in Arab locales, well over the 0.8 level decided on by the cabinet as the maximum threshold. Previous decisions required the number to be lower than 0.8 for businesses to reopen.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was also reportedly reluctant to okay the openings, warned that the government could snap back some restrictions if numbers continued to mount.
On Saturday, Foot Locker and Nike stores at the Tel Aviv Port were fined NIS 5,000 ($1,500) each for opening to customers a day early, according to Kan news.