By The Associated Press
JERUSALEM — Israel will reinstate a strict new countrywide lockdown this week amid a stubborn surge in coronavirus cases.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement in a televised speech Sunday.
Beginning Friday, the eve of the Jewish New Year, schools, restaurants, malls and hotels among other businesses will shut down and restrictions on movement will be imposed. The lockdown is expected to last at least three weeks, when measures may be eased depending on morbidity.
Israel has seen a spike in cases over recent weeks that more tempered measures failed to bring down. It now has one of the world’s worst outbreaks, adjusted for population.
Israel earned praise earlier this year for its initial handling of the coronavirus domestically, moving quickly to seal the country’s borders and appearing to bring the outbreak under control. It has since been criticized for opening businesses and schools too quickly and allowing the virus to spread once again.
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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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— Coronavirus complicates wildfire cvacuations on West Coast.
— With many teachers opting out of returning to the classroom because of the coronavirus, schools around the U.S. are scrambling to find replacements and in some places lowering certification requirements to help get substitutes in the door.
—Central Americans who’ve been cleared to reunite with their families in the U.S. are facing a major obstacle: the coronavirus pandemi c. Only about 338 of 2,700 people approved to come to the U.S. through a small refugee program have arrived since a court settlement more than a year ago.
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Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
LONDON — The U.K., which has suffered Europe’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak, has recorded more than 3,000 new cases of COVID-19 for the third day running for the first time since May.
The Department for Health and Social Services reported a further 3,330 cases on Sunday, taking the three-day tally above 10,000.
Though a ramp up in testing accounts for some of the increase, it’s clear that the U.K. has seen the virus spread in recent weeks. Daily cases are more than double those reported a couple of weeks ago, a change that has stoked concerns of a second wave of the virus.
To get on top of the flare-up, authorities have tightened a number restrictions to everyday life. For example, the British government said social gatherings in England will be limited to six people from Monday, both indoors and outdoors, and that rule-breakers will face fines.
Daily deaths remain very low but the worry is that the rise in cases, even if confined to younger people, will lead to a rise in hospitalizations in coming weeks and potentially of more people dying.
The U.K. has an official virus-related toll of over 41,600 people who died within 28 days of testing positive.
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OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma health officials reported six additional deaths from the coronavirus on Sunday as the state’s death toll surpassed 900.
The …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Health