Sep 13, 2020 - World

Israel to reimpose 3-week lockdown after surge in coronavirus cases

Rashaan Ayesh

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday the government will impose a three-week lockdown in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza following a major resurgence in coronavirus cases, AP reports.

Why it matters: Israel is the first developed country to re-enter lockdown, which it had initially lifted in May, according to Haaretz. The lockdown will begin on Friday, coinciding with the start of Rosh Hashanah.

The state of play: Israel has reported an average of 3,398 new cases over the last seven days. The country has reported over 153,000 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic, and there are over 30,500 infections in the West Bank and Gaza, per Johns Hopkins.

Driving the news: The announcement comes the same day that Netanyahu is expected to fly to the U.S. for a signing ceremony of the Israel-UAE normalization agreement at the White House.

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Israel to reimpose 3-week lockdown after surge in coronavirus cases

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