Israeli Cities Bustle Again After Street Shops Reopen
Shopping on Jaffa Street in Jerusalem
11-09-2020 CBN News Jerusalem Emily Jones
JERUSALEM, Israel – Thousands of Israelis flocked to street shops on Sunday after the government continued to ease coronavirus restrictions and allowed some businesses to reopen on Sunday.
Street shops, which had been closed since mid-September, can have a maximum of four customers inside at a time and everyone is still required to wear facemasks. Meanwhile, malls and commercial shopping centers remain shuttered.
BIG Shopping Centers Group, one of Israel’s largest retail chains, and the Retail Federation said they will petition the High Court of Justice to allow them to reopen.
Many Israeli businesses are permanently closed after being crippled by two lockdowns and months of government restrictions.
“The two lockdowns completely finished us,” clothing store owner Lisa Farage told Ynet. “We’re a street store that barely works in the winter and survives on sales made in the summer. We were shut down for both Passover and Rosh Hashanah, which we normally rely on for the entire winter.”
Despite the easing restrictions, Israeli leaders have threatened to snap back measures if the daily virus cases spiral out of control.
Israel’s Health Ministry on Monday that 522 new coronavirus cases were reported on Sunday out of 22,027 tests.
More than 319,000 Israelis have been infected with the virus out of a country of 9 million. According to Health Ministry numbers, most have recovered and there are about 10,000 active cases in the country.
Some 2,600 people have died in Israel.
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