WORLD NEWS APRIL 3, 2020 / 4:16 AM / UPDATED 17 MINUTES AGO

Israel seals off ultra-Orthodox town hit hard by coronavirus

Ilan Rosenberg
2 MIN READ

BNEI BRAK, Israel (Reuters) - Israeli police threw up metal barricades and roadblocks on Friday to enforce a lockdown of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish town badly affected by coronavirus.

Emergency regulations approved by the cabinet late Thursday declared Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, a “restricted zone” due to its high rate of infections. The new designation allows authorities to tighten curbs on public movement.

Police units, wearing surgical masks and gloves, moved swiftly early on Friday to cordon off major intersections around the town and enforce the new rules.

“Bnei Brak is on lockdown, as of this morning, and police will prevent any movements in or out of the city,” police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

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Medical experts estimate that as many as 38% of Bnai Brak’s 200,000 residents are infected with coronavirus and that the town could soon account for as many as 30% of cases in Israel’s 8.7 million population.

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