(Israel Hayom via JNS and combined sources) At press time, Israel had announced that it would enter into its third lockdown, beginning Sunday at 5 p.m., due to the rise in cases and new COVID-19 strain. Already this week, Israel had decided to ban entry to all non-citizens and require returning nationals to quarantine in special facilities, over concerns regarding the new coronavirus strain detected in the United Kingdom in recent days.

Following a six-hour meeting of the cabinet last weekend, Netanyahu said officials were weighing a general lockdown to stop the spread of the virus. He said a new mutated strain of the virus discovered in Britain would impact the cabinet’s next steps.