The death toll in Israel from the coronavirus has risen to 194, according to an update provided by the Ministry of Health on Friday evening.
A total of 15,058 cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Israel, of whom 137 are listed in serious condition and 102 are connected to a ventilator. Another 102 cases are in moderate condition and the rest are in light condition.
6,003 have recovered from the disease.
Earlier on Friday, the Cabinet approved emergency regulations to further ease restrictions in order to gradually restore the Israeli economy to a careful routine in the shadow of the coronavirus.
The regulations will take effect at midnight on Saturday night.
The regulations permit the sale of food by restaurants for take-away (no seating); the opening of hair salons, beauty parlors and cosmeticians including laser hair removal; and the opening of stores in the public sphere except for enclosed malls. It was also agreed that care providers may work with individuals, or with people living in the same household, without contact, while maintaining a distance of two meters among those being cared for, and wearing masks and using disinfectants.
Activity of the foregoing businesses will be subject to the conditions about maintaining public health, as determined in the regulations.
It was also determined at the meeting that the wearing of masks shall be mandatory also in the public sphere, starting from age seven, except for those engaged in sport or anyone who has a medical reason and certification to this effect. Fines shall be levied for violating the requirement to wear masks from the first offense.
It was also decided that local authority inspectors will carry out significant enforcement and monitoring so that businesses meet these conditions given concerns of a sharp increase in the number of verified cases, expansion of the chain of infection and new waves of outbreak of the coronavirus in Israel.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)