Israel, Ukraine tighten lockdown measures, Orban slams Brussels

Israel tightened a national lockdown on Friday in a bid to curb a sharp rise in new coronavirus cases, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promising that all Israeli adults could be vaccinated by the end of March.

With a population of nine million, Israel is leading the world in a swift rollout of vaccinations, but the number of new infections has climbed to about 8,000 a day, the highest in months.

Israel imposed its third lockdown on Dec. 27. Many Israelis, however, ignored travel and social-distancing restrictions, prompting stricter measures that will include more police roadblocks and the closure of most schools and more businesses.

The new edicts will be in effect for at least two weeks.

In a speech on Thursday, Netanyahu said a vaccine supply agreement with Pfizer Inc meant that all Israelis over the age of 16 would be able to be inoculated by the end of March, or perhaps even earlier.

“As part of the agreement, we agreed that Israel would serve as a model nation, a model for the world in the swift vaccination of an entire country,” Netanyahu said in his address, promising accelerated shipments.

According to government and central bank estimates, the tighter lockdown will cost the economy as much as 4.0 billion shekels ($1.3 billion) a week.

The lockdown has also forced the postponement of a hearing in Netanyahu’s corruption trial, which had been scheduled for Wednesday, a court document released on Friday showed. Netanyahu is on trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust, charges he denies.

On Thursday, Israel received its first shipment, some 100,000 doses, of Moderna Inc vaccines.

Some 17.5% of the population – and 70% of citizens aged 60 or older – have received their first shots of the Pfizer vaccine, with second-round inoculations set to begin on Sunday.

Ukraine shuts schools, restaurants at start of tighter lockdown

Ukraine closed schools, restaurants and gyms on Friday as a new nationwide lockdown took effect to fight the coronavirus pandemic in the nation of 41 million people.

Coronavirus infections in Ukraine began rising again in September and have remained relatively high. The country has registered more than 1 million coronavirus cases with 19,588 deaths as of Jan. 8.

The government had decided on the January lockdown in early December, when Ukraine was at the peak of the epidemic and the number of new cases stood at around 12,000-14,000 a day.

The new measures, which include the closure of entertainment centres and a ban on mass gatherings, will be in force until Jan. 24.

Despite calls to ease the lockdown or even cancel it, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Health Minister Maksym Stepanov have said the restrictions were urgently needed.

“By introducing a stricter quarantine from tomorrow, we will avoid a large increase in patients with both COVID-19 and the usual seasonal flu,” Stepanov said, according to a statement on Thursday.

“Thus, we will reduce the workload at the hospitals, because the same institutions treat patients with each of these diseases.”

The number of new cases dropped in early January and this, together with the decision to leave public transport and some non-critical businesses operating, prompted local authorities and businesses to criticise the new restrictions.

The government says imposing restrictions now may help avoid the need for a stricter lockdown later that could do greater damage to the economy.

Hungary extends coronavirus curbs, night curfew

Hungary will extend existing restrictions, including a nighttime curfew, until Feb. 1 to curb the spread of novel coronavirus infections, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio on Friday.

Orban also said digital learning in secondary schools would continue. Primary schools opened this week.

Since Nov. 11, all secondary schools have been closed as have hotels and restaurants except for takeaway meals, a 1900 GMT curfew has been in place, and all gatherings have been banned as a second wave of the pandemic hit the country.

Orban said Hungary had received 80,000 doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine but that was not enough.

“Existing restrictions will be extended until Feb. 1,” Orban said, adding that more than 42,000 healthcare workers had received the vaccine.

Nationalist Orban, who faces the biggest challenge of his decade-long rule with the pandemic and the economic recession it has caused, said an economic rebound this year would depend on how fast Hungary could vaccinate its people.

He said if the government only relied on vaccines made in Western countries, it would take several more months.

He criticised the European Union’s procurement of vaccines, and praised Britain, which went its own way.

“The British, instead of letting Brussels do it, negotiated themselves and are in a much better state now,” Orban said.

He said “vaccine misery” also showed that EU member states should be dealing with many more issues on a national basis, rather than letting Brussels act on their behalf.

Hungary has participated in Russia’s testing efforts and was an early recipient of small batches of its Sputnik V vaccine and is also in talks with China and Israel about vaccines.

As of Thursday, Hungary had reported 334,836 novel coronavirus cases and 10,325 deaths. More than 5,000 people are in hospital, down from earlier peaks but the healthcare system is still under strain.