Tallest tower in Tel Aviv alight with Jewish prayer

The Azrieli Sarona Tower is the tallest building in Israel, which now has a total of 56 coronavirus related death as of Monday, and another 8,904 active cases confirmed. The outbreak has forced the country into near-lockdown in an attempt to contain the spread.

Israeli Health Minister Yaakov Litzman and his wife have been in self-isolation after they both contracted the virus. Prime Minister Netanyahu was then forced to self-isolate as well due to his contact with Litzman. Netanyahu was already in isolation once before after a top aide tested positive, Netanyahu did not contract the illness.

The head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency and the National Security Council were also asked to self-isolate because of their interactions with Litzman, according to a report from Hebrew language media.

Litzman is a member of Israel’s large, insular ultra-Orthodox community, which has been particularly affected by the spread of the virus. At the beginning of the outbreak, some rabbis disregarded the government-mandated movement restrictions, however they have since changed their stance on the issue.

The city of Bnei Brak has the second highest number of COVID-19 cases in Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered a police cordon to circle the largely ultra-Orthodox city, east of Tel Aviv, so to limit the people from going in and out of the city.