09:19Israel is home to one the most successful vaccination programs in the world. Bethan McKernan, our Middle East correspondent reports that Israel has decided to reintroduce several restrictions to combat coronavirus amid rising infections.After a cabinet meeting, the government announced that it would introduce tighter measures starting Sunday. These include requiring masks for outdoor gatherings with more than 100 people and allowing only vaccinated persons to attend indoor gatherings of 100 people or more.The health ministry also decided to tighten regulations for those arriving from overseas. All individuals arriving from the US or 17 other countries, regardless of their vaccination status, must quarantine for 14 consecutive days beginning on 11 August.Despite Israel's initial successes against Covid-19, the country continues to struggle with post-vaccination infections due to the highly infectious Delta variant.On Tuesday, a record 3,834 Covid cases were reported. This is the highest daily total since March.Israeli media reported that Naftali Bennett (the prime minister) is considering new lockdowns starting next month. He said that Israel is competing between epidemics and vaccines, between an open nation and more restrictions in comments made by Hebrew news outlets.More than 57% of the nation's 9.3million citizens have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.Israel announced last week that it will offer a third coronavirus shot for people over 60 who are vaccinated. The booster shot has been administered to more than 100,000 people.
