Israel Approves Night-Time Curfew for 40 'Red Zone' Communities

Arab World

September 9th, 8:55am

Tel Aviv- Asharq Al-Awsat

An Israeli border police officer walks next to a bus near a roadblock during enforcement of a government decision to impose nightly curfews in dozens of towns and neighborhoods to stem the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Jerusalem September 8, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

Israel on Tuesday began a week-long campaign of night curfews and school closures in dozens of towns and neighborhoods with high coronavirus counts, hoping to stem a spike in cases as its public-health chiefs were quarantined for exposure. Most of the 40 zones subject to the partial lockdowns are identified with Israeli Arabs or ultra-Orthodox Jews, minorities where crowding has helped spread the pandemic. The curfew is reportedly set between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m, with non-essential businesses closing during the time period. Schools will be closed at all times Religious leaders had warned that they would refuse to comply with any lockdown measures, especially amid the upcoming Jewish high holidays which run from Sept. 18 to Oct. 10, threatening to bolt from Netanyahu's government coalition if the restrictions were imposed. Israel, with a population of 9 million, has recorded 135,288 cases of the novel coronavirus and 1,031 deaths. The discovery that a worker at a Health Ministry project for combating the virus had contracted it prompted senior staff who had been exposed to him to self-isolate as a precaution. These included the health minister, deputy health minister, the ministry’s director-general, chief of staff and legal counsel, as well as two advisers and Israel’s coronavirus commissioner, the ministry said. Some government officials have called for a nationwide lockdown if the partial measures put into force on Tuesday fail.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2497386/israel-approves-night-time-curfew-40-red-zone-communities