Israeli schools to shut amid tighter COVID-19 lockdown: “one final effort” Netanyahu says

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) –
Israeli government ministers voted Tuesday to further tighten the ongoing nationwide COVID-19 lockdown as the rate of virus contagion remains high despite Israel’s intensive vaccination campaign, the Times of Israel reports. Under the latest measure, schools and nonessential businesses will be closed for two weeks starting Thursday at midnight.

Israel is leading the world in vaccinating its population, with 1.5 million out of 9.3 million already vaccinated. However, the rate of infections has exceeded 8,000 cases per day, the Times of Israel said.
With over 58,932 active virus cases and 3,489 covid-19 related deaths as at Tuesday, Israelis are already prohibited from entering another’s home or going further than 1 kilometer from their own home, with exceptions.

Public transport and workplaces that do not deal with customers in person are limited to 50% capacity.
In a statement about the additional restrictions, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country would be making “one final effort” to contain the virus. The PM also said the surge in contagion was due to the arrival in Israel of the British mutation of the virus.

“We are in the midst of a global pandemic that is spreading at record speed with the British mutation. It has reached Israel and claimed many lives. We must immediately impose a full closure. I have no doubt that the government will approve it and the Knesset must pass it immediately,” the Prime Minister said in his statement. “Every hour that we delay, the disease spreads even quicker.”

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