Corona virus: Israel announces nationwide lockdown
Israel is once again going to put a lockdown across the country to control the corona virus. Under this, strict restrictions will apply from the Jewish New Year.
The second lockdown in Israel will begin on Friday and will last for three weeks.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that this step “we have to pay a heavy price”, but now 4,000 cases of infection are coming to Israel every day.
The lockdown is being implemented at a time when important Jewish festivals are coming. In protest against this lockdown, a minister has resigned and threatened to withdraw his party’s support from the ruling coalition.
According to Johns Hopkins University data, there are 1,108 deaths from Kovid-19 in Israel with a population of about 9 million and more than 153,000 confirmed cases of infection. In recent weeks, there are increasing cases.
What will be the new restrictions?
In a TV address on Sunday, the Prime Minister said that four thousand cases of infection are being reported every day.
It is believed that this second lockdown will prove costly for Israel. Earlier, the first lockdown was imposed from late March to early May.
Under the new restrictions:
More than 10 people cannot meet inside, while more than 20 people cannot meet outside.
Schools and shopping centers will be closed, and people will have to live within 500 meters of their house. Workers will be given special discounts.
Non-government offices and businesses can remain open but customers cannot go there.
However, supermarkets and drug shops will be open to the public.
Israel announces nationwide lockdown
Image source, GETTY IMAGES
Netanyahu admitted that Jewish communities holidaying on religious festivals would be troubled by the lockdown. People usually celebrate these festivals together with their relatives.
He said, “This time these festivals will not be the same as before. And we may not be able to celebrate them with our relatives.”
The second lockdown will adversely affect Israel’s economy, which is already experiencing a recession because of the epidemic. The Finance Ministry has estimated that it will cause a loss of $ 1.88 billion.
But Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu says that we must do this, because this decision is necessary for Israel in this phase of the epidemic.
Netanyahu’s methods of dealing with the Corona epidemic have been criticized. Critics say that their failure to deal with the virus has led to a second nationwide lockdown.
