Israel Heads Towards Full Lockdown, as Coronavirus Cases Peak at New Record High

Israel is heading toward a nationwide lockdown, the Coronavirus Cabinet ruled Thursday night, as the country passed more than 4,000 COVID-19 diagnoses in a single day for the second day running.

Ministers met on Thursday, and decided to impose a closure on the country beginning next Thursday night, ahead of Rosh Hashanah.

The final outline will be brought to a vote by the full Cabinet on Sunday before Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu flies to the United States for the signing of the agreement with the UAE at the White House.

The outline expected to be approved will place the country in a full lockdown for two weeks starting next Friday.

The Health Ministry said on Friday that 4,038 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the last day, setting an all-time daily record since the start of the pandemic.

Of the 33,920 active cases, 489 were listed in serious condition, including 134 of them on ventilators.

Since the start of the pandemic, 146,542 Israelis have contracted the virus and 111,539 have recovered.

No additional deaths were reported since Thursday night, keeping the country’s death toll at 1,077.