As Israel prepares for its third lockdown, hospitals in Jerusalem are reaching their maximum capacity for coronavirus patients.

The Health Ministry told emergency services on Sunday that some coronavirus patients in Jerusalem who need to be hospitalized should be taken to hospitals outside the city.

Meanwhile, Israel is continuing with its national vaccination drive. Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said on Sunday that 280,000 Israelis were vaccinated in the past week.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu‏‏ said on Motzei Shabbos that Israel is aiming to vaccinate around 150,000 people a day, vaccinating over 2 million Israelis by the end of January.

The lockdown will begin at 5 p.m. About 6,000 police officers will be deployed nationwide and over 300 checkpoints will be set up across the country.

Health Ministry Director-General Prof. Chezy Levy told Ynet on Sunday that the lockdown will continue for at least three weeks, adding that without a lockdown, Israel would be seeing about 9,000 new coronavirus cases a day.

Levy added that he believes that the lockdown was necessary because “we hurried to re-open businesses and schools.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)