On Monday Israel’s cabinet approved closing all gyms, bars, banquet halls, public pools and cultural events, reimposing portions of a strict lockdown that the government had eased in May. The cabinet also moved to limit the number of people who could sit inside restaurants to 20; outside restaurants to 30; and indoor prayer services to 19. The government ordered 30% of public workers to work from home, after restrictions were relaxed since mid-May.

Speaking to his cabinet, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the number of severely ill patients is doubling every four days, and warned the number of severely ill patients could paralyze the health system. He said his government would strictly regulate indoor activities where experts say the virus is rapidly spreading…

But over the past week, new infections in Israel have approached or exceeded 1,000 a day, with nearly 800 new infections recorded Monday. The country has reported a record number of active cases, more than 11,800. It has reported a total of 30,162 cases, with 332 people dying of the disease known as Covid-19, according to Israel’s health ministry.