Israel’s health minister hit by coronavirus
The new coronavirus is forcing more top Israeli officials into isolation after the country’s health minister, who has had frequent contact with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, tested positive, the Health Ministry said Thursday.
Israeli Health Minister Yaakov Litzman and his wife, who also contracted the virus, are in isolation, feel well and are being treated, the ministry statement said.
Shortly after the announcement, the prime minister’s office said Netanyahu returned to self-quarantine because of his contact with Litzman. Netanyahu had previously been in isolation after a top aide tested positive for the virus. Netanyahu has tested negative. Hebrew language media reported that the head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency and the National Security Council were asked to self-quarantine because of their interactions with Litzman.
The Health Ministry director and Litzman’s staff also self-quarantined, and the ministry said that requests to enter isolation will be sent to those who came in contact with the minister in the past two weeks. Israel has gone into ear-lockdown to try to contain the virus outbreak. The country has reported just over 6,200 confirmed cases and 29 people have died of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.
Israel’s large, insular ultraOrthodox community, of which Litzman is a member, has been particularly hard hit by infections. In the early phases of the outbreak, some rabbis had pushed back or ignored governmentmandated movement restrictions, but resistance appears to have diminished.
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Israel’s large, insular ultraOrthodox community, of which Litzman is a member, has been particularly hard hit by infections.
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The country has reported just over 6,200 confirmed cases and 29 people have died of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.