The Cabinet unanimously approved on Monday night the lockdown announced by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu earlier in the evening.
From Tuesday evening at 5:00 p.m. to Thursday morning at 5:00 a.m., it will not be permitted to move between localities and cities. This will be in addition to the current restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
During the telephone meeting, Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich criticized Netanyahu for announcing the lockdown even before it was approved by the Cabinet.
The Cabinet determined that, starting from 5:00 p.m. Tuesday and until Thursday at 5:00 a.m., a person will not be permitted to travel outside his locality for food, medicines and essential products as well as to obtain essential services, except if these services do not exist where he resides, in which case he will be permitted to receive them in a locality near the locality of his residence. Exit from a residence and into the public space will only be permitted for a short time and at a distance of up to 100 meters.
In addition, from the conclusion of Passover on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. and until Thursday at 2:00 a.m., food vending services will be prohibited from opening, with the exception of supermarkets. The bakeries in the supermarkets will be closed. Food deliveries will continue to be permitted. The aforementioned restrictions will not apply to localities where there is a non-Jewish majority.
The Cabinet also ruled that public transportation will be halted until Thursday at 5:00 a.m.
The Ministry of Health is again calling on the public to heed the instructions and stay home during the holiday season.
“Despite the seemingly encouraging signs, the coronavirus morbidity is still in Israel and it can break out again. We are still dealing with the morbidity created around the Purim holiday events and need to ensure that a wave of morbidity does not ensue following the upcoming holidays," the ministry said.