Tel-Chai Nation

The government's considering listing several different zones in Jerusalem for how badly Coronavirus infects them:

The cabinet was set on Saturday night to discuss splitting Jerusalem’s neighborhoods into green and red zones, with tighter restrictions to apply to those in the red areas where coronavirus cases have been particularly widespread, Channel 12 reported.

Residents of “red” neighborhoods will be confined to them and will not be able to exit to green areas, according to the report.

It also said some in the cabinet have criticized the move as heavy-handed and unnecessarily restrictive. Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion was reported to have told cabinet officials: “Take the Ramot neighborhood for example — 60,000 residents and 140 of them sick. Why do we need to close off the whole neighborhood?”

Possibly because the neighborhood zones in question are Haredi, where infections have rated the highest, as is discussed next:

Jerusalem has led the country in the number of diagnosed infections with over 1,800 as of Saturday, with many of those reportedly centered in the city’s ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods.

Channel 12 news reported Saturday night that 75% of COVID-19 cases in Jerusalem are in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods. The infection rate is highest in Har Nof, it said, with 8 cases per 1,000, followed by several north Jerusalem neighborhoods including Sanhedria and Ramat Eshkol with 5 cases per 1,000.

The TV report also said there are thousands of known carriers in the Jerusalem neighborhoods and in the city of Bnei Brak, who ought to have been evacuated to state-overseen quarantine hotels. Unless that happens, clocking down such areas would risk turning them into still greater incubation hotspots.

They'd better get started then and remove all patients to the special hotels. On which note, there was at least one Haredi minister who appears to be causing problems now:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Interior Minister Aryeh Deri were reported to engage in a heated argument Thursday night during a cabinet discussion on imposing further lockdowns on predominantly ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak.

Deri, of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, reportedly said he felt that the Health Ministry was “quick on the trigger” when it came to imposing restrictions on Haredi communities.

Wow, so now Deri's acting potentially irresponsible? Shameful. He'll have to come to terms with that the Haredi communities, almost all possible clans and movements, have been failing to keep informed until recent, and kept doing public gatherings in large numbers like weddings, funerals and school attendance. As a result, it's inevitable this'll have to be done. He'd better be at peace with the decision.

Update: and now, the decision to establish red zones has gone into effect:

The special ministerial committee on coronavirus has approved creating “restricted zones” in Jerusalem beginning at noon on Sunday until Wednesday.

The people in these areas cannot leave unless they are going to work, getting essential medical treatment, attending the funeral of a nuclear family member or transferring their children to an ex-spouse.

In addition, they can attend legal proceedings or access other essential services with approval.

There are four districts specified by the committee, which include mostly haredi (ultra-Orthodox) communities.

The move comes after days of deliberation and protest against such a decision by Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion.

Among the areas that will now be restricted: Har Nof, Ramot, Romema, Neve Yaakov, Mea Shearim and Geula.

The only other Israeli city that has been designated a restricted zone is haredi Bnei Brak, which has more coronavirus per capita than any other Israeli city. Jerusalem has the most cases but five times as many people. However, the Health Ministry shows that the majority of Jerusalem cases were centered in specific, crowded neighborhoods.

In addition, people arriving by plane from abroad must undergo mandatory medical checks:

The cabinet on Sunday will approve emergency regulations to enable the government to compel all arrivals at Ben Gurion Airport to enter mandatory state-controlled quarantine, to prevent the spread of coronavirus by those coming from abroad, the Prime Minister’s Office said Saturday night.

The Defense Ministry issued a statement saying the prime minister had agreed that the Defense Ministry would take full responsibility for the matter henceforth.

All arrivals will be housed at state-run quarantine hotels for 14 days to ensure they are not infected.

In light of the new agreements, Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the few flights still coming to Israel would resume after they were frozen by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday morning until the issue of quarantine was addressed.

The new action came after ongoing reports that Netanyahu’s instructions last week that all incoming passengers to Israel be quarantined was not being followed, and that arrivals on numerous flights were being allowed to enter the country and go home, sometimes via taxi, without being required to enter state-overseen quarantine or even having their temperatures checked.

It's good some responsibility on that is being taken now too. And it's a shame Jerusalem's mayor was protesting the decision to restrict some of the Haredi neighborhoods, considering what a serious outbreak took place there as a result of their mindless approach to the subject.

Labels: haredi corruption, Israel, Jerusalem, Knesset