Upcoming Covid-19 lockdown in Israel to cost $2 billion: Central bank

The upcoming nationwide coronavirus lockdown in Israel will cost about $2 billion, the state's central bank said on Wednesday.

The tightened lockdown will last for 14 days, starting overnight between Thursday and Friday, shuttering schools and most businesses, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The bank noted that this is only the direct cost of the full lockdown, not including indirect costs such as business bankruptcies, and increasing unemployment.

The bank estimated that the weekly cost of the upcoming lockdown will be slightly higher than that of the lockdown imposed in September 2020, which lasted for one month.

--IANS

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