Israel went back into lockdown, its second during the pandemic, this week as the the number of daily new COVID-19 cases reached early 7,000 among a population of 9 million.It comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week introduced tough new coronavirus restrictions to curb the spread of the invisible killer disease.
Britain has the highest COVID-19 death toll in Europe, with a total close to 42,000. New infections have been accelerating in recent weeks, leading scientists to say they could hit 50,000 per day by mid-October if left unchecked.
In Israel, on, fewer businesses are allowed to operate under restrictions, with only “essential” sectors such as finance, energy, health, technology, agriculture and food sales and production running.
Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kisch said on Israel Radio: “We reached a decision to pull the handbrake.”
The current 1,000-metre (0.6-mile)- limit on travel from home, except for activities such as grocery and medicine shopping and commuting to work, will now also apply to attendance at street protests.
Since the outbreak began, 1,316 people have died in Israel and some 200,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported.
The current second wave of infections followed an easing in May of a lockdown imposed in March.
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