As the infection rate soars in Israel’s Arab sector, coronavirus czar Prof. Ronni Gamzu said over the weekend that there could be hundreds of coronavirus fatalities in Israel’s Arab communities within weeks if the infection rate in the sector continues to rise.

“Hundreds of Arab citizens may die of COVID-19 in the coming weeks,” Gamzu said on a visit to the Arab town of Daliyat al-Karmel. “There are about 750 new infections in Arab communities every day and it will increase to 800.”

“This is not a scare attempt, it’s simply the coronavirus. It’s impossible to continue living as usual,” Gamzu asserted.

Israeli media reported on Friday of a mass wedding that took place in the red neighborhood of Silwan in eastern Jerusalem without adherence to social distancing rules or the wearing of face masks.

The coronavirus cabinet approved a lockdown on about 30 localities on Thursday, most of them in the Arab sector.

The list of localities that will be included in the lockdown will be finalized on Sunday and the restrictions will go into effect on Monday and be enforced for at least a week.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)