Gov't locks down Jerusalem's Romema neighborhood due to COVID-19 spread

Two neighborhoods in Hura have also been designated restricted areas.

Police officers close synagogues and handing out fines to ultra orthodox Jews at the Bukharim quarter in Jerusalem, following the government's decisions, in an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus, April 17, 2020 (photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH 90)
Police officers close synagogues and handing out fines to ultra orthodox Jews at the Bukharim quarter in Jerusalem, following the government's decisions, in an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus, April 17, 2020
(photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH 90)
The ministerial committee on restricted zones approved declaring a restricted zone in three neighborhoods –  Romema Mercaz in Jerusalem and neighborhoods Nine and Ten in Hura due to an increase in the number of people infected with coronavirus.
The closures go into effect at 11 p.m. on Thursday and will continue until midnight on May 3, unless otherwise noted. 
At the same time, the committee lifted restrictions on Netivot and the Nachala and Menucha neighborhoods in Beit Shemesh due to the improvement in morbidity data in these areas as a result of the steps that have been taken.
The committee also decided to extend the restrictions on Ramat Beit Shemesh from 6 a.m. Friday until May 3.
Jerusalem's Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum explained that if more than 1 in every 1,000 residents of any neighborhood has been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, it is considered a hot spot and a closure enacted.
A spokesperson for the Jerusalem Municipality told The Jerusalem Post that the Health Ministry was pushing to close additional Jerusalem neighborhoods but Mayor Moshe Lion pushed back and was able to counter its claims that the virus was increasing in other neighborhoods, she said.
This is not the first time a Jerusalem neighborhood has been restricted. On April 12, the Health Ministry restricted several neighborhoods and then lifted the restrictions after Lion committed to move infected patients to “coronavirus hotels.”
In a conversation with the Post on Wednesday, former Health Ministry director-general Gabi Barbash praised Lion’s efforts and said he believed that the nation’s capital was making positive steps toward curbing the coronavirus spread.
On Thursday morning, there were 1,988 active cases of coronavirus in the capital, according to the Health Minsitry. Some 217 people tested positive in the last three days. In Hura, there were 69 active cases. Some 30 people were diagnosed in just the last three days.
In Beit Shemesh, there are 306 active cases.