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Israel will enter a three-week national lockdown starting Friday to contain the spread of the coronavirus after a second wave of new cases, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today.
During the shutdown, which occurs during the peak season of Jewish holidays, Israelis will have to stay within 500 meters of their homes, but can travel to workplaces that will be able to operate on a limited basis.
Schools and shopping centers will be closed, but supermarkets and pharmacies will remain open.
The public sector will operate with fewer staff, but non-governmental offices and companies will not have to close as long as they do not accept clients.
“Our goal is to stop the increase, reduce the contagion,” Netanyahu said.
“I know that these measures will come at a high price for all of us,” Netanyahu said in a televised speech.
“This is not the type of holiday we’re used to. And we certainly won’t be able to celebrate it with our extended family.”
Netanyahu, who has faced mounting criticism for his handling of the coronavirus crisis, said he has instructed his finance minister to come up with a new economic package to help companies affected by the shutdown.
Israel declared an even stricter lockdown in April when the virus first arrived, after which daily cases fell to double digits among a population of nine million.
But as the economy reopened, daily infections rose, from 4,000 last week. Yesterday 2,715 new cases were reported. Since the outbreak began, 1,108 people have died.
The country’s health system “raised a red flag” a few days ago, prompting the government to act, Netanyahu said.
The director general of the Ministry of Health, Hezi Levy, said today in a radio interview that “dozens of localities are being sucked into the circle of morbidity.”
“We have to impose severe restrictions, but they can stop this wave and not take us to the brink,” Levy said.
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