Israel set for tighter restrictions as new cases rapidly rise

• Published date: 21 December 2020
• Date: 21 December 2020
• Author: Globes correspondent
• Publication title: Globes (Rishon LeZion, Israel)

There are currently 456 people seriously ill with the virus in hospital, up from 447 on Saturday, including 117 on ventilators. 376,359 Israelis have contracted Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, 4.1% of Israel's population, and 3,101 people have died, up 68 since Thursday, the Ministry of Health reports.

After failing to make any decisions about tighter restrictions yesterday, the coronavirus cabinet is again meeting today to consider what steps to take. Ministry of Health Covid-19 National Project Coordinator Nachman Ash is calling for all stores on streets and in malls to shut down and for schools above fifth grade to close. But some including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are calling for the imposition of a third lockdown.

If the week-on-week rise in new cases continues at 65%, then a third lockdown looks inevitable.

Meanwhile tighter restrictions have been introduced for Israelis returning home from high infection red...