Weeks after appearing to have the spread of coronavirus firmly under control, both Israel and the Palestinian Authority are now seeing new cases of the virus emerging at record levels.
Daily infections surge: Israel recorded 966 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Health, the latest in a series of soaring daily infection numbers. The number of new infections per day has tripled in the last two weeks and has jumped nearly 50-fold since mid-May, when Israel was down to about 20 new infections a day.
Local lockdowns: The government announced Wednesday night that neighborhoods with high infection rates in cities such as Ashdod and Lod would be locked down.
As of Wednesday evening, Israel had 26,257 confirmed cases of coronavirus, according to the Ministry of Health, and 322 have died as a result of the disease.
The Palestinian Authority reported 330 new cases of Covid-19 Wednesday, which was also a record daily high. In light of the surge in cases, the Palestinian Authority has re-imposed closures of Bethlehem, Hebron, and other areas.
As of Thursday morning, the Palestinian Ministry of Health had recorded 3,095 cases of coronavirus, with 11 deaths as a result of the disease. Like Israel, the Palestinian Authority won praise earlier in the pandemic for largely succeeding in limiting the spread of coronavirus with early and aggressive closures.
