Israel tightens anti-coronavirus measures ahead of Passover holiday

A driver with face mask is seen on a bus in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon on March 29, 2020.(Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Monday the tightening of the measures to fight the novel coronavirus ahead of the Jewish holiday of Passover.

From Tuesday afternoon to Friday, traveling between Israeli cities will be banned. On Wednesday evening, the beginning of Passover, a complete closure will be imposed, under which no one will be allowed to leave home until Thursday morning.

Every year on Passover evening, extended families gather for a special holiday meal, but this time each nuclear family will have to celebrate it by their own.

According to Israel's Ministry of Health, a total of 474 people in Israel were tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the tally of infections to 8,904.

The ministry also announced eight new deaths from the virus, raising the death toll to 57.

The Israel Employment Service said that the state's unemployment rate jumped from 4 percent to 25.1 percent since the beginning of March due to the pandemic.

It said that 905,818 Israelis have applied for unemployment benefits since March 1. The total number of unemployed people in Israel currently exceeds 1.05 million.