Gov’t sets more ‘restricted’ areas as virus cases soar
459 patients registered in single day • Committee to meet today to consider additional closures
Several more Israeli cities were designated as red zones and put on lockdown on Tuesday, as the number of coronavirus patients surged to 459 in a single day.
As of Tuesday night, there have been 21,467 Israelis known to have had the virus. Currently there are 5,299 patients, including 40 in serious condition.
The city of Elad and a number of neighborhoods in Tiberias have been designated as restricted zones by the Ministerial Committee on Declaring Restricted Zones, which is headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The affected Tiberias neighborhoods are Ramat Tiberias Bet, Ramat Tiberias Gimmel, the 200 neighborhood, Tiberias Illit and Ben-Gurion.
The declaration will be valid for seven days, from 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday,
June 24, until 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 1.
The committee considered closing some other cities and will discuss their designation on Wednesday at a follow-up meeting, Netanyahu said.
“The surest way to stop the pandemic is for all citizens to wear masks and maintain distance,” he added.
In Tiberias, there are 60 active patients, about 133.5 for every 100,000 people, the Health Ministry said, adding that the rate of infection hit 122.2% in the last few days.
Elad has 83 active patients, about 174.6 for every 100,000 people, and the morbidity rate in the last seven days is 102.4%.
Entry and exit from the restricted areas will be prohibited, except in extreme cases and for work, or to allow highschool students to take their matriculation exams.
“The second wave of coronavirus is marked by a widespread, non-targeted outbreak of the virus,” said Dr. Erez Barenboim, director of Assuta Ashdod Medical Center. “The attempt to reduce the spread through closing one or the other community is less effective in this round than before. As long as there is no vaccine, the most effective tool is personal responsibility: wearing masks, social distancing and hygiene.”
Much more discipline and enforcement is needed, he said.
“It is a matter of life or death,” Barenboim said.
If the rate of infection, which is about 8% per day, continues, then Israel could
become more imminent, especially with the Israeli government discussing plans to annex parts of the West Bank on the basis on the plan, starting as early as July 1.
Both for Trump’s plan and for the annexation plans, maps or exact details about the areas involved have not been released yet. If things were to move forward, though, the general understanding is that Israel would annex most of what is currently Area C, while the rest of the West Bank would eventually become part of a future Palestinian state. Any of these developments will affect archaeological sites, which could be permanently transferred under Israeli or Palestinian sovereignty.
Here are some of the sites located in the West Bank:
QUMRAN
There are several remains of palaces dating back to the rulers of the Hasmonean dynasty during the Second Temple period. One of them located in Area B has suffered extensive damage from neglect and robbery. The site has not been excavated yet. According to a report by the Hebrew paper Yediot Aharonot, it can be visited in coordination with COGAT’s archaeology unit. The paper recently reported that, according to what is currently understood about the Trump and annexation plans, this structure and other Hasmonean remains located in Area C would not be part of the territory annexed to Israel.
TEL HEBRON
Tel Hebron, located south of Hebron, is officially designated as a national park. The mound features remains from the Cana’anite, Israelite, early Roman, late Roman and Byzantine periods. It is not clear whether it would be annexed to Israel or not.
SUSYA
The archaeological site of Susya is located in the South Hebron Hills. It features the remains of a Jewish city from the late Roman period. It is accessible to the Israeli public. It is located in Area C, in an area which seems set to be annexed by Israel. •