Speaking with representatives of haredi media outlets, the director-general of the Health Ministry, Prof. Hezi Levy, claimed that haredim are responsible for a third of all coronavirus infections in the country.
"We're not interested in gaining herd immunity," Levy said, "not in the haredi community, and not in the rest of the population either. We haven't seen that it achieved anything significant in countries where it was attained. It doesn't decrease the fatality rate.
"This is why I am so distressed at the tishes [chassidic gatherings] I see," he added, "with people behaving as if there was no such thing as coronavirus. This is not the right way - it is irresponsible and lacking all concern for others. Who are you endangering? You are endangering your own families, your own grandparents."