JERUSALEM (ISRAEL) – Israeli and Palestinian authorities have re-introduced some coronavirus restrictions after the number of new cases jumped in what officials fear could be a “second wave” of infections.
A partial lockdown was implemented on Wednesday in a town in central Israel and several neighbourhoods in Tiberias where infection rates were particularly high. The Palestinian Authority put the West Bank city of Hebron on lockdown as well.
Israel was one of the first countries to close its borders and impose curbs when the pandemic surfaced and the Palestinians followed suit.
The campaign took a heavy economic toll, but it worked. An initial spike of hundreds of daily cases dropped to single digits. Israel has reported 308 fatalities, much less than many developed countries, and three people have died from the virus in the Palestinian territories.
The curbs were gradually eased in a bid to revive businesses that had closed, and with it infection numbers have slowly risen. On Tuesday, Israel saw 428 new cases and the Palestinians reported 179, the highest number to date.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he expected more communities would be added to the lockdown list and urged Israelis to follow social distancing norms. On Monday he gave police the authority to hand out 500 shekel ($146) fines to people not wearing masks in public.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field
