IDF soldiers now given option to home quarantine

Following a report by The Jerusalem Post, IDF soldiers in closed units who have been diagnosed with the coronavirus will now be given the option to home quarantine.

On Wednesday morning the military said that the option to home quarantine would now be given to troops after being approved by a unit commander with the rank of lieutenant colonel and following a check that the soldier would be able to safely home quarantine.

“It is the responsibility of the unit to ensure soldiers are adhering to home quarantine and that they undergo a coronavirus test according to procedures,” the military said.

In addition to home quarantining, troops have also been given the option to quarantine on base within their unit, “provided that there are suitable conditions” as well as in quarantine facilities belonging to the Personnel Division.

The decision comes after several large outbreaks on IDF bases across the country, including Camp Dotan (Base 80) where102 female cadets were diagnosed with the virus after a fellow cadet returned sick to base following a furlough at her parent’s home for the Rosh Hashanah holiday. 

Parents of cadets blamed the military for the outbreak, saying that requests to move them to home quarantine where they would not be in contact with others were denied and that cadets who displayed symptoms have been transferred to the rooms of healthy soldiers, which led to even more of them coming down with the virus. 

A senior officer involved in the situation at Camp Dotan explained to the Post that there were meetings held on the dilemma of whether or not to let the cadets self-quarantine at home or remain on base. And despite the “understandable pressure” by parents, the decision that was taken, he said, was one that was safest for all involved.

“Trust me, it’s the easiest thing for me to say ‘ok they can quarantine at home,’ but it’s not the right move. We will pay for it,” he said.

“The virus is already on base, after all these days where troops are sleeping together, showering together… if I allow these cadets to go home, then I’m allowing them to mix with the civilian population,” he continued, adding that allowing those who are sick but asymptomatic “to mix with the civilian population would be catastrophic.”

Other outbreaks were reported at the Bahad 1 officer’s training base and at the Kfir and Nahal training bases and commando brigade school as well as on the Navy’s INS Lahav missile ship.