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.