Israel’s Health Ministry announced 761 new coronavirus cases on Sunday in the previous 24 hours, a low number which is typical for Sunday and Monday’s statistics following the weekend when fewer coronavirus tests are conducted.

There are currently 396 seriously ill patients, of whom 114 are ventilated. The death toll has risen to 679.

Israel’s coronavirus czar Prof. Ronni Gamzu said on Sunday that Israel’s Arab sector has behaved so irresponsibly that it almost constituted “a terror attack” that could lead to hundreds of coronavirus patients.

“The Arab sector, in the last two weeks, since Eid al-Adha, has almost carried out a terror attack,” Gamzu told Ynet. “Gathings, celebrations, parties, complacency, indifference – as if the coronavirus can’t hurt them.”

Gamzu’s remarks quickly sparked outrage, with some saying that his remarks were racist. Gamzu later apologized for his remark, saying that he used the term “terror attack” to refer to the effect on the Arab community.

However, Gamzu asserted that his remarks or the Health Ministry’s policies toward the Arab sector are not racist, saying that the coronavirus czar tasked with managing in the outbreak in the Arab community is an Arab himself.

Gamzu mentioned Yarka, a Druze village in the western Gallil which has recently become a coronavirus epicenter, with 197 cases per 10,000 residents. For a basis of comparison, Modiin Illit, which is the Jewish city with the highest infection rate in relation to its population, has 144 cases per 10,000 residents

“I received a phone call from Yarka a week ago,” Gamzu said. “They described what was happening there and said, ‘Come in, implement restrictions, people here are sick. Why don’t you impose a closure on Yarka?’ You call that racism?”

The Health Ministry took an unusual step last week in calling on the Israeli public to avoid entering Yarka due to the high number of coronavirus patients in the village.

Gamzu also said on Sunday that the possibility of a nationwide lockdown during the upcoming Chagim is still on the table but has not yet been discussed in depth.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)