A woman gets vaccinated against the COVID-19 at Maccabi Healthcare Services Center in central Israeli city of Modiin, on Dec. 27, 2020. Israel entered on Sunday the third nationwide lockdown as the country's COVID-19 tally surpassed the 400,000 mark. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)
CAIRO, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Israel entered on Sunday the third nationwide lockdown as the country's COVID-19 tally surpassed the 400,000 mark. Meanwhile, Iran reported 5,502 new infections over the last 24 hours, raising the overall count to 1,200,465.
The Israeli government on Sunday announced the enforcement of a two-week nationwide lockdown as the country gears up a vaccination drive to curb a resurging wave of COVID-19 infections. This is the third national lockdown in Israel since the outbreak of the pandemic.
From 5 p.m. local time (1500 GMT), all people are required to stay within 1,000 meters of their home, except for commuting to workplaces that have been defined as "essential," seeking medical care, attending legal proceedings, and exercising.
Restaurants and shops were closed, except for deliveries.
Unlike the two previous lockdowns, kindergartens, schools for children under six, and secondary schools for grades 11 and 12 will remain open during the current lockdown.
The finance ministry estimated in a statement last week that reimposing the lockdown will cost the Israeli economy about 3 billion new shekels (930 million U.S. dollars) a week.
Also on Sunday, the country's employment service said the number of unemployed people in Israel is expected to rise by 90,000 to 120,000 during the current COVID-19 lockdown.
The number of the unemployed in Israel currently stands at about 600,000, which is 14.6 percent of the workforce in the country.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that he was hopeful that the country's vaccination drive will help beat the pandemic, as Israel is entering the second week of its vaccination drive.
According to Netanyahu, Israel can provide up to 150,000 vaccine shots per day by Jan. 1, 2021.
With a population of about 9 million, the Israeli health ministry reported on Sunday 3,182 new cases, raising the total number in the country to 401,197, and 22 more fatalities, bringing the death toll to 3,225.
Also in the day, Iran added 5,502 new COVID-19 infections, raising the overall count to 1,200,465 cases in the country, and 199 more fatalities related to the virus, bringing the overall death toll to 54,693.
In Turkey, the health authorities reported on Sunday 14,205 COVID-19 cases, including 2,806 symptomatic patients, raising the total number in the country to 2,147,578.
The death toll increased by 254 to 19,878, while the total recoveries climbed to 2,015,230 after 21,196 more recovered over the past day.
Meanwhile, Jordan's Health Ministry said a Jordanian and his wife, who recently arrived from Britain, have been confirmed positive for a new variant of COVID-19, which was initially found in Britain and other countries earlier this month.
The new variant of COVID-19 is believed to be more transmissible than the prevailing COVID-19 strains.
The couple is now quarantined at home and in "excellent" health, the health ministry said, adding epidemiological teams continue to track down contacts.
On Sunday, Jordan reported 1,590 new COVID-19 cases, taking its total number of infections to 287,946, including 3,758 deaths and 261,514 recoveries, according to the health ministry.
The Palestinian health ministry reported on Sunday 1,506 new COVID-19 cases for the past 24 hours, taking the total number over the threshold of 150,000 to 150,046. The ministry also reported 28 deaths related to the virus, bring the death tally to 1,493.
The ministry said the pandemic in the country is expected to peak by the end of February 2021.
Morocco added on Sunday 1,517 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally in the North African country since March 2 to 432,079.
The number of recoveries from the coronavirus in Morocco increased to 398,060 after 1,965 more were added, while the death toll rose by 36 to 7,240, the ministry of health said in a statement.
Qatar registered 159 new cases on Sunday, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 143,062.
The United Arab Emirates reported 944 new infections on Sunday, raising the total confirmed cases to 201,836.
In Kuwait, the COVID-19 cases increased by 204 to 149,653 on Sunday, while the death toll rose by two to 931.
Oman added 182 new infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the sultanate to 128,472. It also reported four deaths, bringing the overall death toll to 1,495.
