Israel has closed all non-essential businesses, including open-air markets and limited prayer meetings after failing to bring down the highest Covid infection rate in the world. Israel has the world's highest coronavirus infection rate as a proportion of its population, with more than 200,000 cases recorded and 1,335 deaths out of a population of nine million. 'To save the lives of Israel's citizens we need to impose a full lockdown now for two weeks,' Netanyahu said. Hagai Levine, chairman of the Israeli Association of Public Health Physicians, said Netanyahu's rush to ease the lockdown set in place during the first wave caused the current crisis. 'Once the rates went lower, Prime Minister Netanyahu told the public to go and have a good time,' said Levine, an epidemiologist who is part of the country's anti-coronavirus taskforce.

Source: Daily Mail September 24, 2020 18:06 UTC