To stem the epidemic recovery, Benyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, announced Sunday, September 13 a national reconfinement of three weeks, extendable if the situation requires it.
- During this period, the Israelis will not be able to go beyond a perimeter of 500 meters around their home.
- Schools and shopping centers will be closed while supermarkets and pharmacies will remain open and only companies that do not receive visitors will be able to continue their activity.
- Israel is the second country in the number of cases per capita.
Israel becomes the first country to officially reconfine its population. This Sunday, September 13, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced, during a televised speech, that “the government has decided to implement a strict three-week confinement with the option of extending this measure.” This reconfinement will begin Friday, September 18 on the eve of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, and end on October 9, if it is not extended in the meantime.
Prayers in small groups
During this period, the Israelis will not be able to go beyond a perimeter of 500 meters around their home. Schools and shopping centers will be closed while supermarkets and pharmacies will remain open. Only companies that do not receive an audience will be able to continue their activity. The Jewish state is one of the countries most affected by the pandemic and the second country, behind Bahrain, with the most Covid-19 contaminations per capita over the past two weeks, according to figures from the AFP. Israel has more than 153,000 cases and 1,103 deaths for 9 million inhabitants. To fight against this epidemic resumption, a curfew was imposed a week ago in around forty cities, but this was not enough to limit the progression of the virus.
The reconfinement comes in a context of religious holidays to limit gatherings and avoid increased circulation of the virus. The restrictions begin on the eve of the Jewish New Year, they will continue during Yom Kippur which takes place between September 27 and 28 and will end on the last day of Sukkot, next October 9. “I am well aware that these measures impose a heavy price on all of us (…) It is not a holiday season as usual, we will certainly not be able to celebrate with our extended families”, explained Benyamin Netanyahu. Groups for prayers will be limited to ten people indoors and twenty outdoors.
Worldwide, restrictive measures
Elsewhere in the world, restrictions are also coming into force without going as far as a national reconfinement. This Monday, a new confinement is introduced in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, three months after the lifting of the first restrictions. In the United Kingdom, gatherings of more than 6 people are now prohibited. In Austria the mask is now compulsory in all shops and public buildings, whereas it was already in supermarkets and transport. According to AFP data from this Sunday, the pandemic has officially claimed 921,097 lives since its onset last December.
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