On Thursday evening the Ministerial Committee on Restricted Zones met in order to determine which additional cities should be designated as red zones and locked down due to a high rate of COVID-19 infections in those areas.

The last originally included neighborhoods in nine cities but was shortened to seven. Israeli media published the list of proposed cities ahead of the meeting. The list included neighborhoods in Modi’in Illit, Ramle, Beit Shemesh, Lod, Jerusalem, Kiryat Malachi, and Ashdod.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the nation during a press conference on Thursday that Israel had opened up its closure too quickly.

“Looking back, as part of trial and error, it can be said that this last step was premature. Many urged us to do it, to open up the economy unhindered. This has not stopped these same people from asking us today, ‘Why did you open this way?’”… We listened to your hardships and wanted to put as many of you back into the workforce as possible.”

Netanyahu added that a lot of what comes to pass is in the hands of the general public. “Studies show that when two people wear masks and stay two meters apart, the chance of getting infected is nil. So, I ask for your cooperation. We are doing everything to avoid a complete closure – it is in our hands.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)