JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced overnight curfews on some 40 cities and towns hit hard by the coronavirus. But he backed away from reported calls for full lockdowns after an uproar by politically powerful religious politicians. The measures were announced late Sunday after hours of consultations with decision-makers. The government has been forced to take new action after failing to contain an outbreak that has claimed more than 1,000 lives and remains at record levels of new infections. The curfews will go into effect Monday night at 7 p.m. and will be in effect until 5 a.m. It was not known how long they will remain in place.

Ariel Schalit/AP
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish children wear face masks amid the coronavirus pandemic as they gather in Bnei Brak, Israel Sunday, Sept. 6, 2020. The death toll from the coronavirus in Israel has surpassed 1,000, as the government on Sunday mulled steps for imposing new restrictions to quell a resurgence in infections. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)





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