Israel tells residents to stay 100 metres from home

The Israeli government on Wednesday announced a raft of new restrictions for a seven-day period, including a prohibition on people venturing more than 100 meters from their homes, apart from under certain circumstances. The new guidelines also shut synagogues in an attempt to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Photo: Testing at entry to Israel’s Knesset

The new guidelines says citizens can go for “a short walk of no more than 100 meters from one’s home either as an individual or with others from the same residence for an undefined ‘short period of time.'”

The measure is one of 14 exceptions for leaving the house, which interestingly includes attending a demonstration, a reminder of Israel’s commitment to democracy and free speech at a time when most freedoms are having been restricted for justified reasons. Another exception is attending a public prayer space with fewer than 10 people, provided people are two metres apart.

On Wednesday the Health Ministry said 2,170 Israelis have been infected with the virus, with 37 in serious condition. Five Israelis, all of whom had preexisting medical conditions, have died.

Twenty-nine percent of those who contracted the virus inside Israel and outside their own homes were infected in a synagogue or a yeshiva, according to an analysis by the National Information and Knowledge Center for the Fight Against the Coronavirus, which has been advising the Health Ministry.