The Israel Defense Forces on Monday announced it was stepping up its restrictions on soldiers in a bid to prevent the coronavirus from affecting the military, preventing troops from leaving so-called “closed bases” and checking the temperature of anyone visiting bases housing sensitive equipment.
IDF Spokesperson Hidai Zilberman told reporters that roughly 3,700 service members were in quarantine as of Monday afternoon, including one major general, Itai Virob, the commander of the military colleges.
The military has set up specialized communication equipment for the unspecified number of senior officers — colonels and above — who are currently in quarantine, he said.
The 117 lone soldiers — service members who are not supported financially by their parents or do not have family in the country — currently in quarantine will be given the option of being housed at the military’s resort in the coastal town of Givat Olga or on a kibbutz, Zilberman said.
The spokesman said the pandemic has not seriously damaged the military’s operational capabilities. He said that while there were a large number of troops in quarantine, they came from all over the military, meaning that not even one IDF company has been taken out of service because of the virus.
Zilberman said the IDF’s main goal at this time was limiting contact between soldiers and civilians and interactions between troops, in order to slow or stop the spread of the virus within the military. READ MORE
