Israel breaks record for daily virus cases for second time this month

Tel Aviv, Sept. 8, (dpa/GNA) – The number of new coronavirus infections in Israel has reached a new record high of 3,392 cases within 24 hours, the Health Ministry said Tuesday.

That is the highest one-day figure in the country since the outbreak of the pandemic. The previous record was from September 2, with 3,173 new coronavirus cases.

Political wrangling is getting in the way of an effective fight against the coronavirus in Israel.

Instead of the originally planned lockdowns in 40 towns with particularly high numbers of infections, nightly curfews are to be imposed between 7 pm and 5 am from Tuesday evening.

According to Israeli media reports, the restrictions were watered down after the mayors of four strictly religious towns sent an angry letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, allegedly threatening to withdraw their support.

The strictly religious parties in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, are considered close allies of Netanyahu and often tip the scales in elections.

Overall, 135,043 Covid-19 cases have been confirmed since the pandemic reached Israel, and 1,026 people have died of Covid-19.

GNA