Bnei Brak has the highest number of coronavirus patients per capita in Israel, according to Health Ministry data and the Hebrew website Ynet. One-third (34%) of its residents who were screened for the virus tested positive.
Some 10% of Jerusalemites and 6% of Tel Avivians who were screened for the novel coronavirus tested positive, Ynet reported.
The data indicate the severity of the outbreak within the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community. Many haredim have not adhered to Health Ministry guidelines.
On Tuesday morning, police broke up a minyan (quorum of 10 male adults) in Jerusalem’s haredi neighborhood of Mea She’arim, one day after the government approved measures that require people to pray on their own.
According to data released by the Health Ministry, 571 residents of Bnei Brak were infected with the virus, compared with 650 in Jerusalem. Jerusalem’s population (925,890) is almost five times as high as Bnei Brak’s (199,230).
Israel’s total number of cases is “going up in a steady way, and that is not so good,” Tal Brosh, head of infectious disease at Assuta Ashdod Medical Center, told The Jerusalem Post. “But that is also because the number of tests being done is increasing.”
“My concern now is the haredim” who are not practicing social distancing, which could lead to a spike in cases “very quickly,” he said. “If Bnei Brak residents do not stop gathering at weddings, prayers, mikvaot… we could see a surge within a few weeks.”
The data come on the backdrop of what is considered moderate growth in the number of infected people. As of Tuesday morning, 4,831 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19, including 83 in serious condition and 69 on respirators, the Health Ministry reported.
On Tuesday morning, the country’s youngest patient to die from the virus was announced: a 49-year-old mother of twins from Lod. The total number of deaths in Israel was 17.
Ynet reported the results of testing in other cities, including: Ashkelon, 108 out of 998 tested positive; Rishon Lezion, 95 out of 1,866; Petah Tikva, 91 out of 1,479; Modi’in-Maccabim-Reut, 79 out of 1,154; Ramat Gan 76 out of 1,352; Efrat, 49 out of 411.
On Tuesday, the Health Ministry released a report examining the total number of sick patients per city. Jerusalem and Bnei Brak have the highest number of people infected, followed by Tel Aviv (287), Ashkelon (114) and Rishon Lezion (103).
Some 45 Israeli cities have fewer than five coronavirus patients, including Ness Ziona in central Israel, Yeroham in the Negev and the West Bank town of Beit El.