Will Israel quarantine American travelers because of coronavirus? - The Jerusalem Post

A consultant with Israel's Health Ministry says the country is considering putting all American citizens who travel to Israel under 14-day quarantine. In an interview with Kan radio on Tuesday, Dr. Tal Brosh, head of the infectious disease unit at Assuta Ashdod, said such a quarantine is "in discussion, of course" among officials.

He also said. “I would recommend it, but let’s complete the discussions first.” Brosh is a consultant for the Health Ministry. A spokesperson for the Health Ministry denied the report and told The Jerusalem Post that putting US travelers under quarantine "is not currently on the agenda."

Brosh said that despite the United States being a large and very organized country, America is seeing the coronavirus spread rapidly across the country, including several severe cases and even death.

So far, six people have died from the novel coronavirus in Washington state and at least 100 people across the country have been diagnosed. The US announced this week that up to 1 million people could be tested for the virus by the end of the week.

“We know that there are places that have more people who are carrying the virus than they really know,” Brosh said. “This is not just in the United States but other places.”

Brosh said that Israelis should feel secure because the country is doing more than most. However, he noted that shy of closing the borders there is no guarantee that Israel can stop the virus from entering the country.

He explained that while it might seem appropriate to test any traveler who enters Israel for coronavirus, this would be untenable and also largely unhelpful. He said that the quantity of people would be too many and that it is plausible that a person would enter the country showing no symptoms of the virus and testing negative but test positive the next day or week.

In Israel, there are so far 12 people who have contracted the coronavirus. The Health Ministry has disseminated information about their whereabouts. To date, more than 5,000 Israelis are under quarantine.

2020-03-03 13:31:00Z
https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Israel-could-consider-placing-US-travelers-to-Israel-under-quarantine-619608