Israel shuts schools, slams curfew in 40 COVID-19 hot spots

By News Agency

Israel announced on Tuesday a partial lockdown on dozens of cities, schools and communities to battle a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The new restrictions, which were approved by a special ministerial committee, will be imposed on 40 cities and neighbourhoods across Israel.

According to a joint statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office and the Health Ministry, the seven-day lockdown will start on Tuesday evening.

It comes with a 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew and closure of all schools and kindergartens.

The communities involved are the mostly Arab and ultra-Orthodox ones hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak.

Nine large Jewish and Palestinian neighbourhoods in Jerusalem, the settlements of Beitar Illit and Emanuel, and the Arab cities of Umm al-Fahm and Nazareth in northern Israel are also listed for lockdown.

The cities involved were announced “red” as part of a government’s “traffic light” policy that has classified areas to red, green and orange according to morbidity level.

Reported by Xinhua/NAN