Israeli Gov’t Restricts Gatherings, Pleads with Citizens to Assist in Virus Battle

Israel on Thursday recorded a new high in novel coronavirus cases, with nearly 9,000 new patients diagnosed and close to 14% of all tests returning positive. Close to 1,580 have died since the outbreak of the pandemic, 200 of them in the past week alone. In an attempt to stymie the virus’ spread, the government early Thursday morning enacted harsher restrictions on public gatherings, limiting all forms of public prayer and demonstrations. Citizens will not be allowed to hold gatherings more than 1 kilometer from their homes, essentially canceling the monthslong weekly protests that have drawn tens of thousands to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem. Yet the main center of infections remains the densely populated ultra-Orthodox community, from which over a third of the nation’s cases now emanate. Netanyahu on Wednesday spoke with leaders of several religious sects, pleading with them to ensure their followers adhere to the emergency decrees and restrictions and avoid the mass wedding parties and holiday gatherings that were held in recent weeks.