Israel is to reinstate a strict country-wide lockdown this week amid a sharp rise in coronavirus cases.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the move in a televised speech on Sunday.

Restaurants, shopping centres and hotels among other businesses will shut down on Friday and restrictions on movement will be imposed.

"Our goal is to stop the increase (in cases) and lower morbidity," Mr Netanyahu said.

"I know that these steps come at a difficult price for all of us.

"This is not the holiday we are used to."

The tightening of measures marks the second time Israel has gone into a lockdown after a lengthy shutdown in the spring.

That is credited with having brought down what were much lower infection numbers but it wreaked havoc on the country's economy, sending unemployment skyrocketing.

The lockdown will remain in place for at least three weeks, at which point officials are expected to relax measures if numbers are seen declining.

Israel has had more than 150,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases and more than 1,100 deaths.

Given its population of nine million, the country now has one of the world's worst outbreaks.

It is now recording more than 4,000 daily cases of the virus.