Seventh Israeli Tests Positive for Coronavirus; Country Issues Mass Quarantine

An Israeli man who returned from Italy a week ago was diagnosed with the coronavirus on Friday and was transferred to quarantine, the Health Ministry said, making him the seventh Israeli to test positive for the virus.

Two other Israelis who returned from Italy last week tested positive on Friday, in addition to one traveler's spouse, who contracted the virus in Israel. 

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– Haaretz Weekly Ep. 65

Israel’s ready for corona – but not for women in powerHaaretz Weekly Ep. 65

Following the outbreak of the coronavirus in Italy, Israel's national airline carrier El Al announced that it would suspend starting Friday all the flights scheduled to head there from the Ben-Gurion Airport. In addition, all flights to Thailand will be cancelled starting Monday.

Meanwhile, Israel's Education Ministry announced that it has decided to nix all the student delegations that were supposed to travel abroad; it has also determined that requests to establish new delegations will not be approved. 

Earlier it was reported that an Israeli who was on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship off the coast of Japan returned to Israel on Friday, where he was diagnosed as ill with the virus and was also put in quarantine.

The man was initially hospitalized in Japan, but upon his release and return to the country he had been tested positive for the virus. The man flew to Israel via a commercial flight of Turkish Airlines from Tokyo through Istanbul and then to Tel Aviv. All the passengers who were with him on board flight TK53 and then TK84, which landed in Israel at 08:55 A.M., are requested to immediately enter a house quarantine of 14 days and report immediately to the Health Ministry. 

The first two to be diagnosed in Israel arrived from Japan and were passengers aboard the Diamond Princess. Upon the discovery of the virus, they were both put in quarantine at Sheba as well. One of them has since recovered and was released.