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Image posted, REUTERS
Israel has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world relative to population.
Israel is preparing to tighten blockade measures for the second time across the country due to the coronavirus outbreak, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that the country is “on the brink.”
The new measures, which must be approved by Parliament, lead to the closure of more workplaces and the imposition of additional restrictions on movement.
Jewish religious temples will welcome small groups of citizens next week to celebrate Yom Kippur (Yom Kippur), the holiest of Jewish holidays.
The move came after the daily number of new COVID-19 cases exceeded 8,000.
This is one of the highest infection rates in the world in terms of population.
Since the beginning of the outbreak, Israel has recorded 1,335 deaths from coronavirus and more than 206,000 people have been infected.
The Israeli government had received international attacks with its first efforts and measures during the spring of last spring to contain the Covid-19 outbreak, which resulted in a very low death rate compared to other countries, but was widely criticized for losing control after the first shutdown was eased last May.
The virus outbreak returned quickly and last Friday the country posted its highest rates in terms of daily new infections, exceeding 5,000 cases, and Israel became the first country to re-impose a nationwide lockdown.
Schools were closed and the authorities required citizens to stay less than a kilometer from their homes, with the exception of going to work, making essential purchases, playing sports in the open air, attending religious services and protests.
Jewish religious synagogues were allowed to remain open, but keeping the social distancing rules enforced limited the number of worshipers allowed to enter during the Jewish New Year.
The ministers also decided to impose stricter restrictions on Thursday, after a continued increase in the infection rate and health facilities came under increasing pressure.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “The infection rate of the disease in Israel is increasing, the number of critically ill patients is increasing, and so is the number of deaths, unfortunately.”
He added: “During the past two days, we have heard from experts that if we do not take immediate and strict measures, we will reach the brink. To save the lives of Israeli citizens, we must impose a two-week lockdown.
The new measures are expected to take effect from 2:00 p.m. local time (11:00 GMT) on Friday and continue even after the end of the Jewish holiday of Tabernacles on October 11.
Israeli media reported that the measures would include closing all non-essential businesses.
Religious temples will be closed except for Yom Kippur, which falls next Sunday, and at other times, only open-air prayers will be allowed, with a maximum of 20 people attending.
It also appears that street protests will be limited to 20 people at a time, which may end the large demonstrations that have been going on for weeks against Netanyahu.
Reports indicate that opponents of the prime minister accused him of using the measures as a cover to stop the opposition, especially since he had previously described the demonstrations against him as a sham.
The protesters gathered outside the prime minister’s home in Jerusalem every week to demand his resignation during his trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, while Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing.
