Tel Aviv, Feb 1 (IANS): The Israeli cabinet has decided to extend an ongoing 36-day nationwide lockdown until Friday in an effort to curb the coronavirus outbreak.

Late Sunday night, the Ministers voted in favour of extending the measure at least until Friday, a government spokesman confirmed to Xinhua news agency on Monday.

The lockdown, first imposed on December 27, 2020, is Israel's third since the onset of the pandemic in February 2020.

During the lockdown, people cannot go 1,000 metres far from their homes with exceptions for essential workers and those who are getting vaccinated or purchasing food.

The Ministry of Health reported 4,227 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, increasing the overall infection tally to 643,006.

The death toll stands at 4,796.

The number of people vaccinated against the disease in Israel has surpassed 3.05 million, or 32.8 per cent of its total population, since the vaccination campaign began on December 20, 2020.