Israel Prepares for Nationwide Holiday Lockdown

The Israeli government will convene on Thursday for a fateful meeting in which it will determine whether the country is headed for a total, state-wide lockdown in the coming weeks. Health Minister Yuli Edelstein foreshadowed the government’s decision Thursday morning, saying a lockdown “seems inevitable” at a time of rapidly increasing deaths and novel cases. According to all estimates, the closure, which will likely ban all citizens from leaving their homes except for essential activities, will be imposed at the beginning of the Jewish High Holidays, set to begin next week. On Wednesday, the record for daily new infections was broken for the third day in a row, as nearly 4,000 people were diagnosed with the virus. For the past week, Israel has led the world in new coronavirus cases per capita. Close to 500 people are in serious condition as of Thursday, with 12 dying in the past 24 hours.