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The Health Ministry on Saturday warned if Israelis continue to defy the stay-at-home orders, it would have to tighten the already strict measures meant to combat the coronavirus outbreak.
Earlier, the Health Ministry reported that another 178 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Israel over the past 24 hours, bringing the country's total to 833.
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(Israelis swarm the beaches defying directives of health officials)
"The Health Ministry advises the public to stay at home - the beautiful weather is not a reason to go outside," said the ministry in a statement.
The remarks come shortly after images emerged showing hundreds of Israelis swarming beaches and parks on Saturday afternoon. One video showed police officers ordering anyone "who is not supposed to be outside" to go home.
“Don't leave your home," said Director General, Ministry of Health, Moshe Bar-Siman-Tov said. "Follow the Health Ministry's guidelines, otherwise we will find ourselves with a significant outbreak.
"I call on the public to stay home, whoever has gone out, please return home.”
On Friday, Israel recorded its first ever COVID-19 related death.
The 88-year-old man, who had a serious underlying health condition, was named as Ariyeh Ibn.
Ibn, a Holocaust survivor, contracted COVID-19 at an assisted living facility in Jerusalem from a social worker, who unknowingly infected several other nursing home residents.
He passed away at Shaare Zedek Medical Center as a result of complications caused by the virus.