Israel extends coronavirus lockdown until end of January

Israel's government voted to extend the lockdown until the end of the month, according to a statement from the prime minister's office on Tuesday night, as Covid-19 cases have continued to rise since the closure began a month ago.

The country recorded 10,051 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the total to 565,629, according to Health Ministry data. There are 1,147 critically ill patients, near the high for the pandemic. More than 4,000 people have died.

While infections have been rising, Israel has also rolled out an aggressive vaccination campaign. Almost 2.8 million doses have been administered in the country, which has the highest per-capita inoculation rate in the world.

Israel will begin gradually reopening its economy from February, and much of it will be active by March, Finance Minister Israel Katz had said on Sunday.