A curfew to prevent a spike in coronavirus infections over the Purim holiday went into effect Thursday night. The restrictions will remain in place until Sunday morning.
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"Last Purim, there was a dangerous outbreak that infected many people. We were forced to lock down the country," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters at a press conference, Thursday. "This cannot be repeated. This Purim, we'll do the opposite. We'll all listen to the rules. We can put on costumes, but we must obey the rules. It's even more important because we are really, truly about to exit the pandemic."
Curfew restrictions will keep Israelis from going farther than one kilometer (1.6 miles) from their place of residence. Staying at another person's home is also forbidden. Gatherings of up to 10 people inside and 20 people outside are allowed according to the guidelines.
Intercity public transportation between cities stopped operating at 8:00 p.m., Thursday. Public transportation inside cities, however, continued to operate at 75% capacity.
On Friday, all public transportation was set to operate at 75% capacity. On Saturday night, public transportation inside cities is set to operate at full capacity. Public transportation between cities, however, will operate at 75% capacity.
Trains stopped operating Thursday night, but were set to start running again Sunday morning.
As a walled city, Jerusalem celebrates the Purim holiday one day after the rest of the country. To deal with this challenge, the Transportation and Health Ministries decided to halt public transportation inside the city and keep private buses from entering Israel's capital from Saturday night until Sunday night.
To enforce the national curfew, the Israel Police set up 24 road blocks at major intercity intersections across the country.
Speaking to reporters, Police Commissioner Yaacov (Kobi) Shabtai said he had ordered the Israel Police Intelligence and Investigations Division to open criminal cases against anyone organizing gatherings forbidden under coronavirus curfew guidelines.
The police called on the public to adhere to the guidelines and avoid unnecessary encounters with officers.
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