Tight lockdown imposed for end of Passover holiday

Coronavirus in Bnei Brak  / Photo: Ammar Awad Reuters , Reuters
Coronavirus in Bnei Brak / Photo: Ammar Awad Reuters , Reuters

Cabinet plans easing restrictions in Israel from next week as new virus cases are on the wane.

Iמ a telephone meeting last night, Israel's cabinet approved a tight lockdown for the last day of the Passover holiday and Mimouna, starting 5pm this evening and until 5am Thursday morning. Inter-city travel will be banned and people will only be allowed to within 100 meters of their homes.

Bakeries will only be allowed to open from Thursday morning at 5am and not after the Passover festival ends on Wednesday evening. This is to prevent people packing into bakeries on Wednesday night to buy bread, which was prohibited during the seven day Passover festival. The restrictions will also prevent Israel's North African Jewish communities from celebrating Mimouna on Wednesday evening.

The Cabinet is eager to start a gradually staged return to normal from next Sunday. No details are yet available but in the first stage people in the technology, manufacturing and finance sectors could be allowed to return to work.

Meanwhile, the latest Ministry of Health figures show a fall in the number of new Covid-19 cases though the number of fatalities is rising. As of this morning, there were 11,868 confirmed cases (up 633 from 11,235 yesterday morning) of the virus in Israel, of which 181 are described as severe (down two from 183 yesterday), with 132 of these patients connected to ventilators, down four from 136 yesterday. 2,000 people who were hospitalized have recovered from the disease and have been discharged. 117 people have died from the virus including 12 new fatalities over the past 24 hours.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 14, 2020

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2020

Coronavirus in Bnei Brak  / Photo: Ammar Awad Reuters , Reuters
Coronavirus in Bnei Brak / Photo: Ammar Awad Reuters , Reuters
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