Israeli returning from Italy tests positive for coronavirus

An Israeli from Italy was confirmed to have the virus. 

By World Israel News Staff

On Thursday, Israel’s Health Ministry announced that an Israeli who who returned from Italy on Sunday has been diagnosed with coronavirus.

Italy has become the 4th most infected country with 447 confirmed cases and 12 death, according to the Associated Press.

The infected individual was brought to Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, a city bordering Tel Aviv, where he will be kept in quarantine in special rooms set up to deal with what could soon be declared a global pandemic.

All those he came into contact with have been notified and put under home quarantine. The incubation period of the disease is about two weeks.

The man has taken El Al flight 382 from Italy to Israel. He’s the first case of an Israeli with coronavirus from Italy.

The only other cases of Israelis infected with the disease came from the cruise ship off Japan. They were returned to Israel and placed under quarantine at the same hospital.

Israel’s Interior Minister Aryeh Deri said on Thursday he would bar travelers from Italy from entering Israel. On Thursday, 25 travelers from Bergamo, Italy were denied entry to Israel, The Jerusalem Post reports. The paper reports that 23 passengers on a flight from Venice and Milan were also refused entry.

Israel had already included Italy on a growing list of countries from which returning travelers must enter a self-imposed quarantine at home. Among the are Japan, South Korea, China and other far eastern countries.

Australia, recently visited by President Reuven Rivlin, expressed its strong disapproval if it too should be placed on such a list. He passed on the Australians’ concerns to Israel’s Health and Foreign ministries.

The number of cases globally has soared past 80,000 with the vast majority (78,497) being in China.