Israel imposes second lockdown amid spike in COVID-19 cases

The Israel government has called for a nationwide lockdown beginning Friday after the nation's parliament approved an initial lockdown for two weeks which is likely to be extended.

Cases of coronavirus began to spike with the start of the Jewish New Year. The country ig going into a nationwide lockdown for the second time.

Israel had earlier imposed a lockdown in March and began easing restrictions in May.

There have been 5,000 cases per day as authorities scrambled to limit worshippers going to the synagogues amid the Jewish New Year. 

“We find ourselves before the second closure since the start of the global coronavirus pandemic,” PM Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address to the nation

"We have determined that one of the criteria for new restrictions would be a red flag from the health system and it was waved last week,” he added.    

The Israel government has designated certain cities that have recorded a large number of cases as 'red', which includes places near Tel Aviv and areas in Jerusalem, including the Old City.

The authorities will implement strict COVID-19 guidelines during the lockdown. There will be restrictions on educational activity, visiting each other's residence, and visits to the beach. Moreover, the authorities will not allow more than 20 people to gather in open spaces with social distancing norms of at least 2 meters with residents allowed to go out up to a distance of 1 kilometre only.