Israelian administration authorizes stricter lockdown measures amid COVID-19 surge
Loosen Up Your Schedules, Israelis! The Party's Over, Again
Get ready to rearrange your plans, folks! Israel's party pooper, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has announced that the government is gearing up to tighten the noose on quarantine restrictions, starting September 25. And guess what? The party won't be back on the dance floor unless COVID-19 infection rates take a dip.
Thursday morning saw the Israeli cabinet giving the green light to the proposed tightening of quarantine measures, following recommendations from the government's coronavirus commission. The party's over for two weeks, with the Sukkot holiday on October 9 marking the end of this sorrowful fiesta.
Over the past 24 hours, the Israeli Ministry of Health has registered close to 7,000 new infections, making the total number of COVID-19 cases pierce the 200,000 mark since the pandemic began.
You might recall that a nationwide lockdown was imposed on Israel last Friday. The government was generous enough to allow its citizens to roam only a kilometer away from home. Gatherings of more than ten folks in closed spaces and twenty in open spaces were flat-out prohibited. Educational and entertainment institutions, cafes, restaurants, and sports clubs were closed, and shopping malls, hairdressers, and beauty salons took a hit as well.
Now buckle up, as the party's about to get a lot less fun for the next fortnight. Get ready for another round of limiting gatherings and social interactions, closures of non-essential businesses and public venues, travel restrictions, mandatory mask-wearing, and social distancing mandates. The curfew hours could be extended, and movement might be further limited.
As we all know, Israel's thrown a couple of these lockdown parties before, and it looks like they're at it again to tame the beast called COVID-19. Stay safe, folks!
Overall, the September 25, 2020, measures were part of Israel’s second round of COVID-19 lockdown, involving significant limitations on public and social life to curb virus spread. These entailed typical lockdown restrictions like:
- Limiting gatherings and social interactions
- Closing non-essential businesses and public venues
- Imposing curfews or limiting movement during certain hours
- Restrictions on travel and public transport
- Mandatory mask-wearing in public
- Social distancing mandates
These measures were intended to last a few weeks based on the epidemiological situation at the time, but the exact length is tied to the September 25 tightening, not specified in the search data. Subsequent easing began in early May 2025 according to an article about Israel easing back from a second lockdown, but that's not related to the September 2020 measures directly[1]. Stay tuned for updates!
With these tightened measures commencing on September 25, health-and-wellness practices such as social distancing and mask-wearing will once again become vital for Israelis. The ongoing battle against COVID-19 has led to a second round of science-backed restrictions on public and social life, including limiting gatherings, closing non-essential businesses, and imposing travel restrictions.
