Israel’s Netanyahu announces full lockdown to go into effect 4.0pm Today

Israel’s caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday new anti-coronavirus restrictions ahead of the Passover holiday in Israel, with inter-city travel for non-essential reasons banned.

THE full lockdown will begin Tuesday at 4pm local time and will end Friday at 7am local time. Wednesday evening will also see what is apparently a full curfew for Israel, with Israelis urged to stay at home until Thursday morning.

Netanyahu stressed that the upcoming week would determine whether the situation in the country deteriorates or takes a turn for the better, and added that the upcoming holiday of Passover will not be like Purim, which saw an uptick in transmissions.

He also said that due to the restrictions rolled out earlier, there were now “positive signs” on the horizon, and the limitations could be gradually lifted after the holidays.

The caretaker PM said that a unity government was necessary amid the crisis and also spoke out against what he called “incitement” against Ultra-Orthodox Jews, with their communities being some of the worst-hit in the pandemic.