COVID-19: Israel applying emergency to public sector

JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced late Monday an emergency framework as a preventive measure against the new coronavirus.

Netanyahu said in a televised statement that the public sector will carry out its duty in line with the state of emergency, according to local media.

The decision will take effect Wednesday.

A limited state of emergency will also be applied to the private sector as companies and stores will have to reduce 70% of their staff.

In a related development, police detained 12 Palestinians who were voluntarily sterilizing mosques, churches, and other institutions in Jerusalem amid the coronavirus, according to witnesses.

The reason behind the detentions could not be immediately determined.

On Monday, the health officials said the total number of virus cases in Israel climbed to 250, as 48 new cases were reported.

The virus known as COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan, China last December, and has spread to at least 146 countries and territories as the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic.

Out of 173,000 confirmed cases, the death toll now exceeds 6,600, while more than 77,500 of patients have recovered, according to Worldometer, a website that compiles new case numbers.

The current number of active cases worldwide is more than 88,500 -- 93% in mild condition and 7% are in critical condition.