Israel extends COVID-19 lockdown till Feb 7

In January, the Israeli government extended the third nationwide lockdown, which came into force on December 27, until the end of the month, as daily coronavirus cases continued to grow despite active vaccination. On January 26, Israel closed Ben Gurion Airport to prevent COVID-19 mutations from entering the country until February 7, while exceptions could be made for specific humanitarian cases, cargo and fire flights. The current lockdown measures were in place until February 5.

"It is good that the Cabinet has accepted the recommendations of the Health Ministry and my recommendation, with only minor changes. The lockdown will continue until Sunday morning [0700 local time, 0500 GMT]. I ask that the public take very strict care to follow the directives and to go and be vaccinated. The vaccines work. The more people who are vaccinated, with emphasis on the 50+ age group, the more we will be able to gradually, cautiously and responsibly open the economy," Netanyahu said, as quoted by his office.

With the end of the quarantine, the ban on movement for up to one kilometer (0.62 miles) from home will be terminated. Reserves, national parks and historical monuments in open spaces will be ready to receive visitors again, while restaurants and cafes will be allowed to provide take-away customer service, the office added.

As of now, Israel has recorded 679,149 cases of coronavirus disease, including 5,019 deaths.