Israel Enters Third National Lockdown As COVID-19 Cases Continue To Surge; Imposes Stringent Restrictions And Fines

In a bid to contain the continuing surge of fresh COVID-19 cases, Israel on Sunday (27 December) entered a third nationwide lockdown to stop the spread, reports The Times of Israel.

The development comes as the daily tally of fresh COVID-19 cases in Israel has been surpassing the 3,000 mark on most days over the past week, and are on an upward trend. To address the alarming situation, the two-week long stringent lockdown has been imposed, with health officials warning that it could be extended to a month.

In the latest lockdown, Israel has banned its citizens from entering other person's homes and has also restricted the movement of citizens to one km from their home except for vaccination.

The Jewish nation has also closed down leisure, entertainment and commerce with exception of essentials , while limiting public transportation to 50 per cent capacity. Also, the workplaces that do not deal with customers face-to-face has been limited to 50 per cent capacity.

In case of violations, a fine as steep as $155 will be imposed to ensure compliance. in addition to this, the security forces will also be setting up hundreds of checkpoints across Israel's highways.

It should be noted that Israel has already initiated vaccination of its population with Pfizer developed vaccine.