An epidemiological investigation into a coronavirus outbreak in Binyamina revealed Monday that one of the sources of the localized contagion appears to be a local gym trainer who violated a mandatory quarantine.
Two coronavirus outbreaks were detected over the past few days in schools in the cities of Modi'in and Binyamina. As a result of the outbreaks, the number of new daily virus cases on Monday stood at 125, the highest since April of this year.
The Health Ministry's epidemiological investigation revealed the fitness trainer had violated isolation and was in contact with a large number of people, which has likely contributed to the spread of the pathogen in the area.
As of Tuesday, there are 94 verified coronavirus cases in Binyamina and 988 residents in self-isolation due to the outbreak.
The head of the Binyamina-Giv'at Ada local council, Itay Weisberg, told Ynet the contagion is localized and has been "contained" by local authorities.
"The vast majority of new verified cases is among unvaccinated children in grades 7-8. As long as it does not spread, it is likely that the immediate actions we have taken are the powerful tool that was needed to stop the spread," Weisberg said.
In Binyamina on Monday was designated as "yellow", marking a relatively high COVID infection rate. As a result, the city decided to reinstate the indoor mask mandate for schools and academic institutions, which was lifted by the Health Ministry last week.
"We also suspended all planned, mass gatherings for at least a week, including graduation parties, events and more. A binding directive may come later," Weisberg added.
He said that overall, he is not too worried about the outbreak since it appears to only affect those who have not been vaccinated, which he said was expected.
"I'm not worried for one simple reason - the numbers show that the outbreak is very localized," he said.
"We need to adapt to the idea that the systems will continue to operate under coronavirus restrictions, like we did during the peak of the pandemic all over the country. The data is in our favor, most of the population in the country is vaccinated, we have a very disciplined population and they take responsibility."