Israel has become more rigid with its corona virus measures on Thursday as a second nationwide lockdown now approaching its second week failed to bring down the world’s highest infection rate.

The new rules will shut down the vast majority of workplaces, shutter markets, and further limit prayers and demonstrations.

The Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said late Wednesday, at the start of a cabinet meeting to thrash out the new measures, “Over the past two days, we’ve heard from experts that if we don’t take immediate and harsh measures, we’ll reach an abyss.”

The government’s latest budge comes as the country is about to enter the second week of a three-week lockdown imposed last Friday, which included the closure of schools and restrictions on work and leisure.

Under the new measures awaiting approval in parliament on Thursday, churches will only be allowed to open on Yom Kippur, a Jewish holiday which begins Sunday afternoon.

At other times, only outdoor prayer will be allowed with a maximum of 20 people attending. The same restrictions have been applied to demonstrations.

Netanyahu said, “To save the lives of Israel’s citizens we need to impose a full lockdown now for two weeks.

“This is also necessary for the economy. Whoever thinks we can work with a raging pandemic, with death and infections rising, without it affecting the economy, is wrong.”

A decision on whether to close Ben Gurion international airport outside Tel Aviv will be made later on Thursday, the government said.

According to an AFP tally of the past fortnight, Israel has the world’s highest coronavirus infection rate as a proportion of its population, as over 200,000 coronavirus cases have been recorded, with 1,335 deaths, out of a population of nine million.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu has been fiercely criticized by opposition politicians, who accuse him of tightening the rules to put an end to weeks of protest outside his Jerusalem residence.

Ayelet Shaked, a lawmaker with the far-right Yamina party, said the new rules are “destructive and unreasonable” adding that “Because of the demonstrations, they’re pushing hundreds of thousands of people to unemployment and crushing the economy.”

Shaked has threatened that she will push to change the measures when they come before a parliamentary committee for approval later on Thursday.