Coronavirus: Israel May Require All Incoming Travelers to Self-quarantine

Amid growing concerns over the coronavirus, Israel’s health minister on Monday confirmed that the government was considering requiring all incoming travelers to self-quarantine for a period of two weeks. Israeli authorities on Sunday night confirmed 14 new cases of the virus, including the first of unknown transmission, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 39. Some are accusing Jerusalem of having pushed back the implementation of strict measures aimed at preventing an outbreak so as not to disrupt last Monday’s national election. According to one report, had the restrictions been imposed beforehand, some 70,000 Israelis – as opposed to 6,000-plus – would have needed to vote in special polling stations. Others have argued that the government is being influenced by political considerations, including a purported reluctance to set guidelines for inbound travelers from three US states – New York, California and Washington. Nevertheless, an estimated 80,000 Israelis – or close to 1% of the population – are currently in home-quarantine, having returned from a host of countries from which foreigners have indeed been barred entry into Israel. These include various nations in Asia, where the virus originated and initially spread, in addition to hard-hit European countries such as Italy and Spain. On Sunday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu introduced a five-point plan geared toward mitigating the effects of the outbreak, including a billion-dollar package for businesses that have already been negatively impacted financially.