Gov’t mulls new red zones as 700 diagnosed in a day
Edelstein in first interview: ‘No explanation’ why corona testing did not increase earlier
The Health Ministry was expected to place several more cities under lockdown as the number of coronavirus cases surges across the country. Among the cities under consideration were Dimona, Kiryat Gat, Ashdod and Ramle, though no decisions were made at press time.
On Tuesday morning, the Health Ministry reported that 721 new patients were infected in the last day – the highest number since April 2.
From midnight to press time, another 469 people were diagnosed with the virus. There are currently 7,403 active patients in Israel, including 52 in serious condition, among them 24 who are intubated.
Moreover, one person died, bringing the death toll to 320.
“We cannot talk about mistakes or right measures,” Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said Tuesday during The Jerusalem Post’s inaugural virtual conference. “I think we will only know [if we made the right decisions] in the long run.”
He admitted that Israel closed fast and opened fast, but “imagine if we stayed closed another month. Then we would not have enough funds for the Health Ministry I am heading right now.”
Despite the spread of the virus, Edelstein said he does not envision a closure in Israel like the one at the end of March and in April. However, to not lock down, he said, the Health Ministry would have to be more effective at cutting the infection chain, Israelis would need to follow the ministry’s regulations, enforcement would need to be more effective, and the government would have to identify the right red zones.
The Hebrew website N12 broke down some of the data that the Health Ministry provided on its website to see where most people are getting infected. According to the data, 137 people were infected on buses in the last week, 86 at supermarkets, 58 at restaurants, cafes and bakeries, 39 at malls and 32 at other stores.
His passing was mourned by a diverse group of luminaries on Twitter, including Steve Martin, Bette Midler, Natasha Lyonne, Mitzi Gaynor, Mel Brooks’ son Max Brooks, Dan Rather, Bill Kristol, Josh Gad, Ed Asner, Joy Behar, Alan Alda, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and David Simon.
Six weeks ago, he was among of a group of elderly celebrities featured in an ad urging Americans to lobby Congress to allow people to vote by mail because of the coronavirus outbreak.
“Although we’re dying to vote, we’d much rather just vote and not die,” he says in the ad.
He appeared just last week on an episode of the web series, Dispatches from Quarantine,