Arabs are 21% of population but 50% of serious COVID patients

• Author: MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN
• Published date: 04 October 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

"There is a gap between the Arab and general community, but we are closing the gap," according to the Arab sector's COVID czar, Ayman Saif.

The day after he presented a new plan to tackle low vaccination rates and high infection in his community to the coronavirus cabinet, Saif on Monday told The Jerusalem Post numbers alone can be deceiving, and he believes the Arab population is at a turning point when it comes to COVID-19.

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"We are seeing a decline like the rest of the country," Saif said. "If we had 2,500 new cases a day last week, this week we are seeing 1,000. And the 'red' cities – there were more than 50 two weeks ago, and today there are only around 15."

So, what's going on?

For starters, coronavirus testing among the Arab community spiked in September, from an average of 50 people tested out of every 10,000 to 140 people – the highest number of individuals per capita screened in any community last month.

As more people were screened, unexpected asymptomatic infection was discovered, especially among children. In contrast, the Jewish community spent September at home for the High Holy Days and Sukkot, testing fewer people than average.

The Arab community returned to its schools in September, too, and kept children in their classrooms while Jewish students enjoyed a break. For perspective, with just six to nine days of school for Jewish students, depending on age and type of school, more than 150,000 students ended up in isolation.

About 50% of new infections were students during the first two weeks of September. Many of these children were Arab.

Moreover, all of the coronavirus waves have caught on later in the Arab community, according to Prof. Bishara Bisharat, chairman of the Arab Population Health Society-Israel Medical Association and a medical coordinator in the Health Ministry's coronavirus headquarters.

"The first wave did not really impact Arabs," he said. "Then, the second and third waves hit the Arab population after they hit the Jewish community. And here, too, at the beginning of this fourth wave, we did not have infection, and then slowly, slowly the numbers started to climb.

"Now, the infection rates in the Arab and Jewish communities are declining, but the Jewish infection rate is going down first and faster."

As the rate of infection drops among the Jewish community, it is logical that Arabs...