WarSclerotic

Israel on Monday evening drastically ratcheted up its efforts to protect the country from the coronavirus threat, requiring all those arriving from abroad to go into quarantine.

All Israeli citizens returning to from overseas were ordered to self-quarantine for 14 days with immediate effect.

Non-Israeli citizens will be allowed into the country for another 72 hours. But after that, they will be barred completely unless they can demonstrate that they have a place to quarantine here for 14 days.

The move will essentially shut down tourism, and send shockwaves through Israel’s already battered travel sector.

Israel is “placing itself in international isolation,” Channel 12 news reported, anticipating that “thousands of international flights will now be cancelled.”

The measures are among the most dramatic to be introduced by any nation in the intensifying battle against the coronavirus. On February 26, Israel had become the first country in the world to advise its citizens against all non-essential overseas travel.

The latest move went into effect immediately for Israelis, but will only be applied to non-Israelis beginning Thursday night, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri said. It is not retroactive for those who have already returned from trips abroad, officials said.

“This is a tough decision, but essential in order to protect public health — and the public health comes before all,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

He added that he had made the move in consultation with other ministers and experts after protracted discussions. On Sunday, he told a press conference, where he had been expected to announce restrictions for some US states, that instead he was considering taking the wider step, reportedly surprising some health officials, who had pushed for days for restrictions on Americans.

There have so far been 42 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Israel, most of them contracted by travelers returning from abroad. Authorities have for weeks ordered measures to clamp down on foreign entries and force home-quarantines that have been seen by some as draconian and diplomatically harmful, but officials have defended them as helping keep the virus at bay. Some 22,000 Israelis are already in quarantine, the Health Ministry said Monday morning.

Unlike other quarantine orders, which were open-ended, Netanyahu said this order will be in place for two weeks. He added that further decisions were being made by the government to protect the economy. He did not elaborate.

Screen capture from video of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing self-quarantine for anyone arriving in Israel, March 9, 2020. (YouTube)

Health Ministry director-general Moshe Bar-Simantov told media that foreigners visiting the country will be granted entry if they can show that they have the means to likewise self-quarantine for 14 days.

Speaking to Channel 12 news, Deri said the development was a “very difficult decision.”

“We are a small country, more crowded than other places,” Deri said, explaining why the government nonetheless went ahead with the measures.

Deri confirmed that he had pushed for the order to not be applied retroactively because it would have scooped in upwards of 250,000 people. He told the station there would be no point in doing this because those Israelis who have returned in recent days have since had contact with their families and the public.

The decision to apply sweeping quarantine for travelers was made after meetings with Health Minister Yaakov Litzman along with all other relevant ministers, including those of finance, economy, tourism and interior, Netanyahu’s statement said.

The Israel Incoming Tour Operators Association called the quarantine decision a “death blow” to the tourism industry, Channel 12 reported.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Health Minister Yaakov Litzman hold a press conference about the coronavirus, at the Prime Ministers Office in Jerusalem on March 8, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Health Ministry had been expected to announce the quarantine as the novel coronavirus and the COVID-19 disease it causes continue to spread around the world and the number of cases in Israel increased to 42, including the first whose source of infection was not known.

Earlier Monday, Litzman told Army Radio that a wider set of protocols was a “necessary step.”

The health minister dismissed as “fake news” the suggestion that casting such a broad net would be an attempt to not single out the United States, where infection rates appear to be rocketing. He also denied that political considerations were tainting his ministry’s decisions, saying that there was “no problem” when Netanyahu spoke with US Vice President Mike Pence about the matter on Sunday.

The virus has infected more than 110,000 people worldwide and killed more than 3,800 people.

The Israel Defense Forces announced Monday it was adopting stricter restrictions on troops and military installations and was preparing to roll out more as it fears the COVID-19 outbreak will worsen.

The restrictions will keep troops who travel abroad away from their units for two weeks, clamp down on who can visit bases, bar parents from enlistment centers, and significantly curb the scope of ceremonies in a bid to keep the the virus at bay.

IDF Spokesperson Hidai Zilberman said the coronavirus has not yet caused a major disruption to the IDF’s activities, though there are concerns that it may do so in the future.

According to Zilberman, while individual soldiers are being affected by the quarantine orders, their units are able to continue as normal.

“These shutdowns aren’t affecting the IDF’s fitness in a way that needs to worry anybody,” he said.

As part of the military’s new limitations, any soldier returning from a trip abroad — regardless of the country — will be barred from their unit for two weeks. “They don’t need to be in quarantine, but they can’t come to the IDF,” Zilberman said.

A young couple wearing protective masks are greeted upon arrival at Ben Gurion airport in Israel on March 4, 2020. (Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)

The military was also setting up an internal hospitalization unit for soldiers who contract the disease, he said.

At this stage, this facility will be designed to hold at most several dozen soldiers, Zilberman said.

In total, some 2,100 soldiers are currently in quarantine, most of them due to personal trips abroad, including a battalion commander. This marks a noticeable jump from the military’s previous statistic, which Zilberman said was a result of additional countries being added to the list of those requiring isolation. Another 300 soldiers have completed their required two-week isolation and returned to their units. One soldier has so far been diagnosed with the disease.

In the longer term, the IDF was preparing for the possibility that the coronavirus may become a full-blown national outbreak, in which case military bases would be used as field hospitals, Zilberman said.

In such a situation, IDF troops would also likely be called on to assist the Israel Police enforce quarantines on cities and towns with high incidences of the disease, he said.

Workers inside a building at Tel HaShomer Hospital which was converted to receive the Israelis who were under quarantine on the cruise ship Diamond Princess in Japan due to the spread of the coronavirus, and arriving in Israel tonight, February 20, 2020. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

In addition, the military was preparing to be called upon to assist the country’s health care system and to provide food and other necessities to Israelis if needed.

In terms of more immediate concerns, the head of the IDF Ground Forces was preparing to alter the military’s training schedule in light of the virus, particularly for reserve units, Zilberman said.

The spokesperson said the IDF would change its protocols for allowing civilian contractors and visitors onto army bases, requiring them to first fill out a screening questionnaire. A panel of questions will also be presented to troops entering headquarters and other sensitive offices.

Beginning later this month, the military will bar relatives and friends from accompanying their loved ones to enlistment centers when they join the military.

Ceremonies and conferences have also been limited as much as possible, and civilians will not be allowed to attend them. “Any unnecessary event will be canceled,” the military said.

In light of blowback to this proposal, Zilberman said the military planned to livestream the events on the internet so that family members could at least watch them.

Separately, a lockdown of the Palestinian city of Bethlehem, which saw a large outbreak of the virus last week, will remain in place until further notice, Defense Minister Naftali Bennett’s office said in a statement.

According to the spokesperson, as of Monday afternoon, the IDF intended to reopen the crossings between Israel and the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Wednesday, which were closed beginning Sunday for this week’s Purim holiday.

The military announced it was closing Israel’s rarely used but still technically active border crossings with Lebanon and Syria until further notice.

Defense Minister Naftali Bennett visits an IDF Home Front Command exercise simulating the spread of the coronavirus on March 8, 2020. (Defense Ministry)

On Sunday, the IDF Home Front Command held an exercise simulating how the spread of the virus will affect Israel’s health care system.

Zilberman said the military planned to conduct additional simulations and war games in the coming days.

Last week, Zilberman said the military’s ultimate goal was to “ensure the fitness of the IDF and prevent damage to it.”

He said the military was prepared to take whatever steps were necessary to ensure the functioning of the IDF, prevent the spread of the disease within it and assist in the national response.

“If a soldier had the virus and was in contact with his company and we have to [quarantine] the company, that’s what we’ll do,” he said.

All international exercises — both ones the IDF is participating in abroad and those being hosted in Israel — have been canceled.

The military also put in place a blanket ban on foreign travel for all troops — conscripts and career soldiers alike — though some exceptions may be made under specific circumstances.

Defense Minister Naftali Bennet, center, meets with IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, right, and other senior national security officials on March 4, 2020. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir was tasked with leading the military’s response to the virus, alongside the Operations Directorate, which is responsible for the IDF’s international relations; the Medical Corps; and the Home Front Command, which works closely with civilian emergency response services.

After emerging in China late last year, the virus has now infected over 100,000 people worldwide and killed over 3,400, most of them in China and Iran, though cases have been reported in countries and territories around the globe. Several dozen people in Israel have been diagnosed with the disease, and tens of thousands have been quarantined.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Iran’s health ministry on Sunday reported 49 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, the highest toll within 24 hours since the start of the outbreak in the Islamic Republic.

The new count brings the number of those killed by the virus in the country since mid-February to 194, one of the highest tolls outside of China, where the disease originated. The virus has spread to all of Iran’s 31 provinces with 6,566 confirmed cases.

Some 743 new cases of infection were identified over the past 24 hours. The total number of cases now stands at 6,566, of whom 2,134 have recovered.

Hardest hit are the provinces of Tehran, Qom, and Mazandaran with 1,805, 685, and 620 cases, respectively, according to Iran’s Deputy Health Minister, Kiyanoush Jahanpour.

Meanwhile, Iran Air announced on Sunday the suspension of all its flights to Europe until further notice.

The statement issued by the company made no mention of the novel coronavirus epidemic as a reason for the measure, citing only “restrictions” imposed by European authorities for “unknown reasons.”

According to several specialized sites, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) banned on February 3 Iran Air aircraft from European airspace, namely an Airbus A321-200 and two Airbus A330-200 that had not undergone necessary upgrades for authorization to fly in Europe.

Sweden on March 2 announced it was temporarily suspending the flight permits of Iran Air on the advice of health officials who said Tehran was “not in control” of the novel coronavirus outbreak on its soil.

The Iranian carrier operates flights to multiple European destinations including Paris, London, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Frankfurt, Vienna and Rome.

Iran’s health ministry on Sunday reported 49 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, the highest toll within 24 hours since the start of the outbreak in the Islamic Republic.

The new count brings the number of those killed by the virus in the country since mid-February to 194, one of the highest tolls outside of China, where the disease originated. The virus has spread to all of Iran’s 31 provinces with 6,566 confirmed cases.

Some 743 new cases of infection were identified over the past 24 hours. The total number of cases now stands at 6,566, of whom 2,134 have recovered.

Hardest hit are the provinces of Tehran, Qom, and Mazandaran with 1,805, 685, and 620 cases, respectively, according to Iran’s Deputy Health Minister, Kiyanoush Jahanpour.

Meanwhile, Iran Air announced on Sunday the suspension of all its flights to Europe until further notice.

The statement issued by the company made no mention of the novel coronavirus epidemic as a reason for the measure, citing only “restrictions” imposed by European authorities for “unknown reasons.”

According to several specialized sites, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) banned on February 3 Iran Air aircraft from European airspace, namely an Airbus A321-200 and two Airbus A330-200 that had not undergone necessary upgrades for authorization to fly in Europe.

Sweden on March 2 announced it was temporarily suspending the flight permits of Iran Air on the advice of health officials who said Tehran was “not in control” of the novel coronavirus outbreak on its soil.

The Iranian carrier operates flights to multiple European destinations including Paris, London, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Frankfurt, Vienna and Rome.