Israel Extends Shin Bet’s Authority to Monitor Coronavirus Patients

World

April 30th, 10:51am

Tel Aviv - Asharq Al-Awsat

People get their hair cut in a barber shop in Jerusalem as workers wear face masks as a protection against coronavirus (File photo: Reuters)

The Israeli government decided to extend the authorities of the Shin Bet to use information on citizens to track coronavirus patients and the people they were in contact with. Earlier, the Supreme Court of Justice granted the government the right to approve an extension of the tracking for the coming weeks, on condition that it begins the legislative process. The internal security agency has been working with the Health Ministry to retrace the movements of coronavirus patients. Meanwhile, the Israeli Ministry of Health announced that for the first time coronavirus recoveries exceeded the number of those infected. The Ministry indicated that 7,929 persons have recovered, while 7,641 still suffer from the disease. It hoped this difference will be an indication that they will overcome the pandemic. Official data indicate that the cases among Arab citizens in Israel are less than those among Jews. However, there are several Arab towns where infections are increasing dramatically, such as Deir al-Assad, which has 146 cases, at a rate of 100 infected persons for every 10,000. The ultra-Orthodox Jewish city of Bnei Brak also has a high rate with 2,813 cases, at a rate of 74 for every 10,000 people. Two other Arab towns are considered to be among the towns strongly-hit by the virus: Hura in the Negev with 66 cases, and Biina with 34 cases. The National Authorities of the Arab citizens decided to support the parent’s decision in rejecting the reopening of schools. The heads of Arab municipalities said that schools won’t resume operation in the next two weeks, amid parental objection over the matter and concerns that the coronavirus rate will continue growing within Arab society. Last week, Israeli authorities allowed some businesses to reopen and said it was considering allowing children to return to school as part of efforts to ease coronavirus restrictions.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2260736/israel-extends-shin-bet%E2%80%99s-authority-monitor-coronavirus-patients