Israel unveils milder version of COVID-19 emergency law

Jerusalem, June 6 (IANS) Israeli Minister of Justice Avi Ninssenkorn the main points of a COVID-19 emergency law that will take effect in mid-June to deal with the pandemic.The new rules are milder compared to the initial version that allowed the police to enter private residences without a warrant to enforce home quarantine, reports Xinhua news agency."The authorities will be given the tools to enforce the guidelines, but police will not arbitrarily break into residents' homes," Ninssenkorn said in a statement on Friday.This new law, to be approved soon by the government, will replace emergency regulations set up in recent months, at a time when legislation could not be promoted in the regular parliament procedure.The government initiated the law given the increase in the numbers of new coronavirus cases, the concern of a second outbreak, and repeated violations of the guidelines.According to the Minister, the new law will be temporary as its validity would require extension by the parliament every 30 days.In addition, the declaration of a city or neighbourhood as a restricted area will be for a maximum of one week. Israel has reported a total of 17,562 COVID-19 cases, with 291 deaths.
--IANS ksk/