Israel to impose second COVID-19 lockdown; government faces backlash

The Israeli cabinet on September 13 approved the second lockdown in the country that will take effect from September 18 and is expected to last until October 11. The plan to contain the spread of the COVID-19 disease was recommended by Israel's Health Ministry and the national health basket committee. The lockdown will take effect from 2:00 p.m. on Friday is subject to changes based on the morbidity rate in the country. 

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According to the guidelines, the lockdown will see full closure of businesses that receive the public in the fields of commerce, culture, recreation, and domestic tourism, including swimming pools, gyms, and restaurants. Essential services such as the sale of food, pharmacies, opticians, or stores that deal mostly with hygiene products, stores for essential home maintenance products, communications products, and medical devices will be allowed to operate as usual. 

Read: Israel's Corona Cabinet Approves 'Traffic Light' Plan To Tackle Pandemic

According to the Times of Israel, the decision is garnering a lot of criticism from the general public as well as the opposition groups, who cite the lockdown as proof of government failure in handling the outbreak. People are criticising the decision because the lockdown is expected to take effect hours before the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. As per government-issued guidelines, citizens will be restricted to leave home beyond 500 meters, except for essential needs. Schools and educational institutes will remain closed, except for boarding schools. 

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Israel's COVID handling

Israel's Corona Cabinet on August 30 had approved the "traffic light" plan to block the spread of coronavirus in the country. The plan that was put forward by the Health Ministry of Israel, instructed local authorities to decide the coronavirus restrictions in the country by classifying cities and towns in four categories, Red, Orange, Yellow, and Green. The plan has been in effect since September 6. 

Israel has recorded over 1,62,000 coronavirus cases so far, of which at least 1,141 people have lost their lives. The number of daily cases started to rise in Israel since the beginning of July as the country has been continuously reporting thousand or so cases for the past two months.

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