The mayor of Bat Yam has restricted access to the city's beaches to residents of the coastal city south of Tel Aviv. The reason for this has mainly to do with bathers coming from cities such as Bnei Brak, Elad, Modi'in Illit, and other ultra-orthodox enclaves where the COVID-19 morbidity rate remains high.
The Bat Yam beaches have been packed recently and it is feared that the crowded conditions could encourage spread of the coronavirus. Bat Yam itself has a population of 160,000.