The Health Ministry said Thursday that an Israeli man who returned from Italy has tested positive for COVID-19, the first case in which an infection has been diagnosed in the country outside of a hospital quarantine, raising fears he may have infected others.
At a press conference, ministry director Moshe Bar Siman-Tov said the man had returned from Italy four days ago and felt ill.
Bar Siman-Tov added that following the diagnosis, anyone in Israel who has been to Italy in the last 14 days must quarantine themselves.
Health Ministry official Prof. Sigal Sadetsky said at the press conference that anyone who has been in contact with the man will also be quarantined shortly. She added that the ministry will soon publish details of the flight on which the infected man flew to Israel.
The man is to be quarantined at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, along with the other Israeli passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was moored off the coast of Japan.
Minutes before the announcement, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri said he intends to bar foreign nationals from traveling to Israel from Italy due to the spreading coronavirus in the European country.
Deri said he will sign an order Thursday prohibiting non-Israelis from entering Israel if they came from Italy. READ MORE
