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Israel announces curfews in some cities, towns

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced overnight curfews on some 40 cities and towns hit hard by the coronavirus.

But he backed away from reported calls for full lockdowns after an uproar by powerful religious politicians.

The measures were announced late Sunday after hours of consultations with decision-makers. The government has been forced to take new action after failing to contain an outbreak that has claimed more than 1,000 lives and remains at record levels of new infections. The curfews will go into effect Monday at 7 p.m. and will be in effect until 5 a.m. It was not known how long they will remain in place.