Hura lockdown extended as country prepares to open
70 people on ventilators • Western Wall reopens
Two neighborhoods in the Bedouin town of Hura will remain on lockdown until Sunday, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Health Ministry said Tuesday.
The town has the highest increase of coronavirus infection in the country – increasing by 19.4% in the last three days. Last week, the town of 16,983 people was deemed a “red zone,” after a number of residents contracted SARSCoV-2 at a large wedding.
A Health Ministry official told N12 that the concern is that many of the residents of Hura work in Beersheba and could infect others. He told the station that many residents who have symptoms do not get tested as they have a cultural belief that having the virus is “shameful.”
Beersheba is one of the Jewish towns with the highest rate of infection, although it is low enough that it has not been classified as a restricted area. A Health Ministry report showed a 1.75% increase in
the last three days and 180 people infected.
Other former hot spots are seeing a decline in cases. Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Bnei Brak and Jerusalem each reported only 11 new patients in the last three days.
In general, active cases of the virus are on the decline. At press time, there were only 5,586 people infected with corona – 376 less than the day before. Some 238 people have died and 70 are intubated. So far, 10,465 people have recovered – almost twice as many as those who are currently infected.
As the infection rate decreases, Israeli freedom expands – and on Sunday, preschoolers between the ages of three and six will return to school. Teachers and aides will use the coming days to prepare their classrooms to welcome students in a safe way.
“As part of the gradual return of the entire education system, the government has decided