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Israel set to quarantine all arrivals from abroad amid 58 confirmed coronavirus cases

Passengers arriving from all countries, including the UK, will be sent back if they cannot self-isolate

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CORONAVIRUS
OUTBREAK

The 58th Israeli citizen to test positive for coronavirus was confirmed in Jerusalem on Tuesday as the government imposed a blanket ban on arriving foreigners who cannot self-isolate.

Effective immediately, Israeli citizens returning from abroad must enter 14 days of self-quarantine as soon as they arrive.

From Thursday, foreign nationals landing in Israel must demonstrate to border officials that they have the means to self-quarantine for a fortnight.

Anyone who cannot offer satisfactory evidence will be returned to their home countries.

In other developments over the last 24 hours:

  • Jordan closed its borders with Israel the West Bank after the Palestinian Authority banned its citizens from crossing it;
     
  • Large numbers of cancellations were reported at hotels and holiday resorts across Israel;
     
  • Israeli embassies around the world cancelled plans to celebrate Independence Day on April 29;
     
  • Airlines cut back on services to Tel Aviv and Eilat, with Israir, Arkia and Wizzair ending all international flights:
     
  • El Al said it was considering a shutdown while Turkish Airlines reduced the weekly flights on its Istanbul-Tel Aviv route from 50 per week to 14;.

More Israelis were confirmed by the Health Ministry on Tuesday morning to have tested positive for the virus, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 58.

The latest confirmed cases included a 30-year-old man from central Israel and a 66-year-old from Jerusalem, Haaretz reported.

The Palestinian travel restrictions  on its citizens do not apply to foreign nationals, who are still permitted to use the Allenby Bridge crossing into Israel.

Crossings between the West Bank and Israel remain unaffected.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country’s restrictions on foreign arrivals was a “a tough, but vital, decision."

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