COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
| COVID-19 pandemic in Israel | |
|---|---|
 Magen David Adom worker dressed in protective gear walks beside a mobile intensive care unit | |
| Disease | COVID-19 |
| Virus strain | SARS-CoV-2 |
| Location | Israel |
| First outbreak | Wuhan, Hubei, China |
| Index case | Ramat Gan |
| Arrival date | 21 February 2020 (4 years, 8 months and 6 days) |
| Confirmed cases | 16,539[1] |
| Severe cases | 62[1] |
| Recovered | 12,173[1] |
Deaths | 262[1] |
| Fatality rate | 1.56%[2] |
| Government website | |
| govextra.gov.il/ministry-of-health/corona | |
The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel was confirmed on 21 February 2020, after a female citizen tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 after return from quarantine on the Diamond Princess ship in Japan.[3]
Response
[change | change source]As a result, a 14-day home isolation rule was created for anyone who had visited South Korea or Japan, and a ban was placed on non-residents and non-citizens who were in South Korea for 14 days before their arrival.[4]
Beginning on 11 March, Israel began enforcing social distancing and other rules to limit the spread of infection.
Gatherings were first restricted to no more than 100 people,[5] but on 15 March this was lowered to 10 people.[6]
On 19 March, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a national state of emergency. Israelis were not allowed to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary.
Cases
[change | change source]As coronavirus diagnoses spiked in the city of Bnei Brak, reaching nearly 1,000 infected individuals at the beginning of April,[7] the cabinet voted to declare the city a "restricted zone". On 12 April, Haredi neighborhoods in Jerusalem were placed under closure.
On 20 March, an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor in Jerusalem who suffered from previous illnesses was announced as the country's first death.[8][9]
Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman and his wife tested positive for the coronavirus on 2 April; Litzman was the first member of the cabinet to be infected.[10]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "קורונה - משרד הבריאות". Telegram (in Hebrew).
- ↑ "Corona Tracker Overview". .coronatracker.com.
- ↑ "Israel confirms first coronavirus case as cruise ship returnee diagnosed". The Times of Israel. 21 February 2020. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
- ↑ "How is Israel Dealing With Coronavirus?". 16 March 2020.
- ↑ "Israel limits gatherings to 100 people as coronavirus cases climb to 97". The Jerusalem Post. 11 March 2020.
- ↑ "No more daycare, restaurants, gyms or prayer quorums: The new virus regulations". 15 March 2020.
- ↑ "Bnei Brak coronavirus cases near 1000 as Haredi cities hit hardest". Ynetnews. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- ↑ Rabinovitch, Ari (20 March 2020). "Israel reports first coronavirus fatality". news.yahoo.com. Reuters.
- ↑ Estrin, Daniel (21 March 2020). "Holocaust Survivor Is First Coronavirus Death In Israel". NPR.
- ↑ "Israel's Health Minister Litzman and his wife test positive for coronavirus". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2 April 2020.