⁍ South Korea has reported its lowest daily virus tally in about a month as it began easing its tough social distancing rules.

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⁍ New Zealand will keep its virus restrictions in place for at least another week as the country continues to battle a small outbreak.

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⁍ Israel will reinstate a strict new countrywide lockdown this week amid a stubborn surge in coronavirus cases.

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– The death toll from the latest outbreak of coronavirus, a respiratory illness related to the common cold, has risen to 14,190, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. The number of confirmed cases in the state is now at 659,434, and the number of hospitalizations has been decreasing since peaking on July 22 at 10,893, health officials say. The outbreak of the illness has also spread to the UK, with more than 3,000 new cases reported over the past three days, the BBC reports. In Israel, meanwhile, the government has announced a lockdown of the country that will go into effect Friday, the eve of the Jewish New Year, with schools, restaurants, malls, and hotels among those to be closed, the AP reports. The lockdown is expected to last at least three weeks, when measures may be eased depending on the morbidity of cases. In South Korea, meanwhile, the country has seen its lowest daily virus tally in about a month as it began easing its tough social distancing rules in the greater Seoul area, the AP reports. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Monday that the 109 new cases added in the past 24 hours took the country’s total to 22,285 with 363 deaths. It’s the 12th consecutive day for South Korea’s daily jump to stay in the 100s. The number of cases is also the lowest daily tally since mid-August. Under the restrictions, everybody must wear masks on public transport and planes, and the sizes of most gatherings are limited to 10 in Auckland and 100 elsewhere.