Netanyahu sounds alarm over Israel’s new Covid-19 spike, warning ‘we’re in a state of emergency’

Israel is currently in a “state of emergency,” in the wake of the alarmingly high number of new coronavirus cases, PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said. The country has smashed past the 10,000 active cases mark and the growth continues.

Speaking during the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu called on the country’s legislators to work faster on a new package of anti-coronavirus measures.

“We’re in a state of emergency. We cannot delay the legislation – we must move forward with it to stop the spread,” the PM stated, referring to the ongoing spike.

We’re in the midst of a renewed coronavirus attack. We’re seeing, as I’ve warned before, that the outbreak is accompanied by an increase in the number of serious cases, which will challenge the Health Ministry.

On Friday, the number of active Covid-19 cases in Israel passed the 10,000 mark for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. The total number of registered cases is rapidly approaching the 30,000 mark, the latest figures from the US’ Johns Hopkins University indicate.

Tel Aviv imposed very strict restrictions to fight the disease, including shutting down businesses and strictly limiting the movement of Israel’s citizenry. The measures seemingly worked, because, late in May, the number of active cases was as low as 1,900. It was this drop that prompted the authorities to start easing the restrictions. However, the infection rate picked up shortly afterwards, derailing the planned relaxation of the lockdown.

Worldwide, the coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 530,000 people, having infected a total of some 11.4 million. In recent weeks, the spread has accelerated in a number of countries, including Brazil, India and the US, which currently have the largest numbers of registered cases.

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