“We will (close) cautiously this time, according to the plan presented through Ministry of Health experts,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters Saturday night.
But the blockade will remain in effect until at least Wednesday in some spaces designated as “red,” basically those with a giant ultra-Orthodox population, where infections remain high, according to the authorities.
Kindergartens, beaches and national parks reopened on Sunday, as did the Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray in East Jerusalem, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Companies that do not get the public have also been allowed to resume their activities and Israelis can return to their friends and family, but the meetings are limited to 10 other internal and 20 outsiders.
A key measure on Sunday removed a restriction for others to travel more than a mile from their home.
The rule has provoked the wrath of some Israelis who have said it is designed to stop protests against Netanyahu.
The rest of some rules, in force since 18 September as a component of a six-month momentary closure opposed to the pandemic, passed Thursday through Netanyahu’s government, provided that the new instances do not exceed 2000 consistent with the day.
On Friday, there were 1,695 new cases, according to official figures, with around 8,000 to 9,000 per day at the end of September.
“If everyone follows the rules, I’m going to work,” Netanyahu said.
Israel, a country of approximately one million people, has recorded 301,896 cases of coronavirus, totaling 2,141 deaths, according to knowledge published on Friday.
Restrictions are expected to be lifted in several phases, until February 2021.
The government faced complaints when cases increased after the country left an initial closure several weeks earlier this year.
The restriction has angered many Israelis who have said it is designed to stop protests against Netanyahu, which have continued every Saturday since July despite lockout measures.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)