Israel to impose second nationwide lockdown as COVID-19 cases soar
Israel government has decided to impose a second nationwide lockdown in the country lasting three weeks from Friday. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday announced that to control the surge in coronavirus infections in the country, a three week nationwide lockdown is to be imposed during which the schools and some economic activities will remain shut.
The three-week lockdown will start from Friday, the start of the Jewish High Holiday season in Israel. During the lockdown, schools, restaurants, and hotels will shut down. There will also be a restriction on the movement of people.
“Our goal is to stop the increase in cases and lower morbidity,” Netanyahu said in Television broadcast. “I know that these steps come at a difficult price for all of us This is not the holiday we are used to.”
After the announcement, Israeli Housing Minister Yaakov Litzman has announced his resignation from the cabinet in protest against imposing a second lockdown during festivals.
Israel which has a population of around 9 million people has been seeing a surge in coronavirus infections of about 4000 new cases every day. The Israeli government was reportedly under heavy criticism for the handling of COVID-19 cases in the Jewish country. Israel has about 150000 confirmed cases and 1100 deaths due to coronavirus infection. The number of confirmed cases when compared to the total population, makes the outburst of the Corona infection worst in the world.
