Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Monday that anyone entering Israel from abroad will be required to self-quarantine for 14 days in light of the global coronavirus outbreak.
Netanyahu’s video announcement comes after what he described as “a day of complex discussions” amid confirmation of more than 100,000 COVID-19 cases caused by the coronavirus. More than three dozen of those cases are in Israel.
“This is a tough decision, but it is essential to maintain public health, which takes precedence over everything,” he said.
The rule will be in effect for two weeks.
“At the same time, we will make decisions to safeguard the Israeli economy,” Netanyahu added.
Israel has also outright forbidden entry to the country by any nonresidents or noncitizens who’ve traveled in the last 14 days to one of the 20 countries it’s red-flagged. So far, the U.S. is not included among those countries.
Israel has also banned gatherings of more than 5,000 people and any international conferences within its borders.
On Saturday, Italy instated mandatory self-quarantines affecting 16 million people in the northern part of the country until April 3. It has the largest outbreak outside of Asia, with around 6,000 confirmed cases and more than 230 deaths.