Israel extends COVID-19 lockdown

JERUSALEM - Israel's cabinet decided late on Sunday to extend an ongoing 36-day nationwide lockdown until Friday in an effort to curb the coronavirus outbreak.

The ministers voted in favor of extending the measure at least until Friday, a government spokesman confirmed to Xinhua.

The lockdown, first imposed on Dec 27, is Israel's third nationwide lockdown since the pandemic first emerged in Israel in late February, 2020. During the lockdown, people cannot go 1,000 meters far from their homes with exceptions for essential workers and those who are getting vaccinated or purchasing food.

Israel's Ministry of Health reported 4,227 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the total number in the country to 643,006.

The number of people vaccinated against the COVID-19 in Israel has surpassed 3.05 million, or 32.8 percent of its total population, since the vaccination campaign began on Dec 20, 2020.