Israel slowly restores economy after Covid-19 lockdown

By Nathan Morley

Israel is preparing to gradually restore the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Public transport in the country will be increased mainly to allow more people to get to work. Furthermore, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the opening of shops in certain categories, including electronics, furniture and books.

As it stands, the total number of coronavirus cases in Israel reached 13,265, with 283 new patients tested positive over the weekend.

In the neighbouring Palestinian territories, the Health Minister said that the number of infections had reached 418 cases since 5 March. Three Palestinians have died from the virus, including two women from East Jerusalem and one man from Tulkarem.

Middle East cases

To the north in Lebanon, the number of infections stands at 672 while death toll remains at 21 – however, 94 patients have recovered from the virus so far.

Meanwhile in Turkey, President Tayyip Erdogan has been inspecting the construction sites of two Covid-19 hospitals in Istanbul.

So Far, Turkey has recorded 82,329 coronavirus cases and 1,890 deaths.

Over in Syria, as many as 2,115 people have attended medical isolation for suspected Covid-19 cases since February.

So far, 1,898 of them have been released after their tests came negative, while 217 are still being checked in isolation centres.

Elsewhere, Jordan will start to bring home Jordanian students and expatriates stranded abroad due to the pandemic - there are currently around 35,000 Jordanian students abroad.