Dec 23, 2020
Israel is headed for renewed lockdown Sunday amid the country’s third wave of the pandemic, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday.
The announcement came after Israel’s Cabinet voted to approve a Health Ministry proposal to send the country back into lockdown until fewer than 1,000 new cases per day emerge. There were more than 4,000 new cases recorded Tuesday.Â
A strain of novel coronavirus believed to be significantly more contagious, but not deadlier, has arrived in Israel, the Health Ministry said Wednesday.
So far, four people in Israel have been found to have been infected with the new strain, the origin of which has been traced back to the United Kingdom.
One of the four patients is believed to have contracted the new strain inside Israel, suggesting community spread has already begun, the Health Ministry said.
Health officials also suspect that a major outbreak in Orthodox communities over the past few weeks may be due to the strain. Researchers in the UK have traced the mutation to the area of Kent in late September. Scientists have said the strain is not likely to impact the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Israel’s upcoming lockdown will limit personal travel to within 1 kilometer of home, and will order nonessential businesses shuttered. It will also limit education, gatherings and public transit.
On Monday, Netanyahu called Israel’s latest spike “unprecedented†and said that mortality rates will continue to rise if the lockdown is not immediately put into place. Israel has recorded 3,150 deaths.
Several governments around the world are restricting travel to head off the spread of the virus’ mutated variant.
Egypt is also heading for renewed restrictions over the Christmas and New Years’ holiday. An official with the Health Ministry in Cairo said Monday that the UK strain is likely present in the country.
