Israel to Impose Lockdowns in Areas With Most Virus Cases

(Bloomberg) -- A top level group of Israeli ministers voted to impose a lockdown on towns and neighborhoods with the highest coronavirus rates in an effort to halt a surge in infections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday.

“For an entire month, we had a high -- even very high -- but stable level of morbidity,” Netanyahu said. “In recent days there has been an increase, and a very dramatic increase yesterday.”

Under the lockdowns, businesses and most schools will be closed and residents required to remain within 500 meters of their homes, Kan public broadcaster reported. Movement in and out of the areas will be restricted, it said.

Israel’s central bank said last month that the economy would contract 7% this year should there be a further surge of the virus, compared with a more optimistic scenario of a 4.5% drop if morbidity is kept in check. The country’s benchmark TA-35 Index dropped 3.4% on Thursday, the most in more than 3 months.

The lockdowns, which are subject to review by a parliamentary committee, will cover some 30 towns and neighborhoods, housing about 600,000 people, Kan said. The towns on the list are mainly made up of Arab and ultra-Orthodox residents.

The cabinet decision was taken after new daily cases surged in the past few weeks, reaching a record 3,000 on Wednesday. Close to 123,000 cases have been diagnosed in Israel, including 976 fatalities.

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