Roni Gamzu
Roni GamzuNoam Revkin Fenton/Flash90

Israel's Coronavirus Czar, Prof. Roni Gamzu, held his weekly briefing on the national fight against the coronavirus, during which he stated that there has been an alarming rise in morbidity in the Israeli Arab community.

"We clearly see an increase in morbidity in Arab society," said Gamzu "In Arab society, weddings and other events take place and this creates circles of infection."

''Our Arab desk chief has put a lot of effort into dealing with this. I call on Arab society and the relevant religious leaders and heads of the authorities from here - this is truly a disaster. This brings us to an increase of over 50 new patients a day.

"Some have warned of a collapse, but the healthcare system is functioning the best of all of Israel's systems," Gamzu stated. "The solution is not a lockdown and I hope we do not reach that point. The cabinet ministers should listen to me because my considerations are only professional in nature."

Addressing the controversy over the annual pilgrimage to the tomb of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in Uman, Gamzu said that "it is unreasonable to have 80 flights to Uman given the increase in cases. I will not change my mind on this."

"I am not going to back down from doing my job," he declared, "but if I am not given the tools necessary to reduce the morbidity rate then there is nothing I can do."