Report from Tel Aviv: On the way to further restrictions?
(Photo: Shachar Goldstein, Meshi Ben Ami)
In assessing the situation at the National Security Headquarters (National Security Agency), there was agreement that the morbidity could not be left as it is and the closure received by the Israeli public should be tightened indifferently.
Regarding the education system, all the options at stake were discussed: closing all educational institutions as required by the Ministry of Health or returning to the original outline approved by the Cabinet: opening kindergartens, grades 1-4 and 11-12 throughout the country and transferring fifth grades J. throughout the country for the outline of distance learning in Zoom. The outline, which has already received the cabinet’s approval, has been reversed following a decision by the Knesset’s Education Committee.
Disagreements over the education system
(Photo: Barel Ephraim)
Immunization complex in Tel Aviv
(Photo: AP)
There is also controversy regarding the length of the closure: the Ministry of Health wants to tighten the restrictions for two weeks. Prime Minister Netanyahu thinks that less can be done with that. Netanyahu also advocates reducing labor and limiting it to only vital places.
On the other hand, blue and white ministers are demanding to wait with the decision on a full closure and the closure of the education system until Wednesday-Thursday – then it will be 10 days since the start of the loose closure to test its impact.
According to data presented today by Corona cabinet experts in a discussion held by Minister Ganz with Science Minister Yizhar Shai (“Team 19”), it appears that not only is there no reason to close the education system, but that its closure could lead to an increase in morbidity.
The discussion revealed that the morbidity rates in the education system are the same as the morbidity rates in the whole country: 0.5%. However, only 15% of Corona nationals in the education system became infected within schools. Some schools in red and orange cities are closed and counted in these statistics as if they were sick in the education system. 55% of the morbidity attributed to the education system – originates in red cities, in places where the education system is closed.
Netanyahu and Gantz. Disagreements in the Corona Cabinet
(Photo: Yariv Katz, Alex Kolomoisky)
30% of those infected were in cities where the schools were open, but according to epidemiological research they were not infected in school but outside it. These include teachers who have been infected at gatherings, meetings and weddings.
“The conclusion is that it is better to keep the children in schools because it is safer outside of school and it is not an unfounded conclusion that the children go around and go to meet friends,” said Minister Shai. According to him, if it is decided to close the education system – his party will in no way agree to “selective enforcement”. Shai said: “This will be a complete closure of the entire education system in all sectors. The decree will not fall on one public, it will not happen again.”
According to forecasts, the number of verified people is expected to rise by 7,000 to 8,000 by Wednesday, but it is not yet clear what the infection trend will be. In a discussion of “Team 19” it was argued that in recent days there have been signs of a decline in the number of severe and moderate patients. The figure was based on a graph by Prof. Yinon Ashkenazi, who faithfully monitors the coefficient of infection of moderate and severe patients. If the trend continues, it was said at the hearing, Israel has reached a restraint that indicates that the health system is not in danger of collapsing.
Minister Shai. Blue and will offer a reduction of crowds from 10 to 5
(Photo: Moti Kimhi)
Minister Shai said that if the current trend continues, it seems that blue and white will oppose full closure and offer as an alternative a step taken in many countries such as the UK – lowering gatherings in a closed space from 10 to five people, which he says is easier to enforce.
“It is too early to announce a full closure, we have time,” said Minister Shai. “We have not yet received answers about the availability of vaccines and have not yet seen the implications of the recent restrictions on morbidity. We should not be caught up in decisions that are too quick and should not recklessly sacrifice the activities of the education system.”
Some local authorities have decided to prevent students from physically arriving at educational institutions. For example, in the locality of Efrat in Gush Etzion, where 90 verified patients were counted today and hundreds of residents went into isolation. “In consultation with the Ministry of Health, the entire education system in the locality will be closed tomorrow,” reads a statement issued by the head of the council, Oded Ravibi, to the residents. In addition, it was decided that children who live in Efrat and study outside the locality will stay at home.
The Be’er Sheva Municipality and the Dimona Municipality have decided that the education systems will operate tomorrow according to the orange color: the kindergartens, grades 1-4 and grades 11-12 will operate in the educational institutions themselves. Fifth to tenth grades will move to online distance learning.
At the same time, Minister Ganz is today intended for business owners – representatives of the trade, restaurants and markets. They asked for a “zero or one” freeze – either close all trading or open it by January 10th. Businessmen said they had talked to Prime Minister Netanyahu, who asked them to persuade Gantz to a tight closure because he was not succeeding.
Ganz, for his part, told the business owners that he is waiting for the morbidity data to come in the coming days to examine the trends and choose the desired course of action so that the businesses will open as soon as possible. Ganz added that he will work to approve the compensation required for business owners.
Prof. Segal warned of the British mutation
(Photo: Meshi Ben Ami)
The Ministry of Health updated tonight that out of 96 new samples taken with suspicion of the presence of the British mutation in the corona virus, seven positive samples were obtained. To date, 30 carriers of the mutation have been identified in Israel, including six who have certainly returned from abroad.
The latest positive samples were found in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak and Givat Zeev. The Ministry of Health emphasized that, as far as is known, this is an infection without a background of traveling abroad.
The Ministry of Health also stated that “there are currently another 300 samples from all over the country that are in the process of paving, as part of the national genetic paving system established by the Ministry of Health. We will continue to update the findings as they become available.”
At the same time, data from the Ministry of Health show that 2,540 Israelis were diagnosed as positive for Corona at midnight. A total of 43,000 tests were performed and the positive rate was 6%. In the hospitals around the country, 1,295 corona patients are hospitalized, 761 of them in critical condition. 209 patients are connected to respirators – this is a figure approaching the peak recorded in October – then there were 226 respirators in Israel. By comparison, at the beginning of December there were 82 patients in Israel who were connected to respirators.
The death toll since the outbreak stands at 3,412 – eight of them today. The Ministry of Health updated that 57 corona patients died over the weekend. In December, 472 patients died – an average of about 15 patients per day.
There are close to 10,000 active patients in Jerusalem and the rate of positive tests in the city is 12%. In Bnei Brak, there are more than 2,000 active patients and the positive rate in the last seven days is 15%. In Tel Aviv-Yafo about 1,500 active patients and the rate of positive tests stands at 3%, and in Haifa about 1,350 active patients with a rate of positive tests of 5%.