Ministers have approved via telephone conference the enforcement of Jerusalem and Bnei Brak-like lockdowns for ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in Beit Shemesh and Netivot, which have become coronavirus hotspots in recent weeks.
The shutdowns will go into effect on Sunday morning at 6 a.m. and will extend for five days.
Beit Shemesh, with its population of 120,000, is the city with the fourth most virus cases in the country (392 as of Thursday), trailing only the far larger cities of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Bnei Brak.
Netivot, with a population of 36,000, has 82 confirmed cases as of Thursday, a number completely disproportional to other cities of such size. The only towns with a smaller population that have more cases than Netivot are Migdal Ha’Emek, Deir al-Assad and Or Yehuda.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Friday, April 24, 2020
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
