All Israelis must wear face-masks while in public as a precaution against the coronavirus, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday.

"We ask you, citizens of Israel, all of you, to wear masks in the public sphere," Netanyahu said in a televised speech, adding that people could improvise in the absence of factory-produced masks.

Netanyahu also said that upcoming religious holidays, including the Jewish holiday of Passover, should be celebrated only with immediate family members.

Israel has taken stringent measures to try to halt the spread of its over 6,000 reported cases. 25 Israelis have died of the illness, according to health ministry data. 

Netanyahu said the government would give Israeli families 500 shekels per child, up to a maximum of four children. The elderly would also receive 500 shekels, Netanyahu said, terming all the payments a "Passover gift."

Those stipends would cost the state a total of 1.5 billion shekels, public broadcaster Kan estimated.

Netanyahu also said Israel's majority Jews must mark Passover "with the nuclear family only," adding that including elderly relatives in celebrations "would be to endanger them."