Coronavirus: Knesset approves lifting requirement to isolate in hotel

Instead, the Knesset decided, in a vote of 8-3, that returnees will isolate at home. Travelers will be required to take a test upon arrival back in the country and another one nine days after their return.

If Israelis do not have a suitable place to isolate, they can still quarantine at a hotel. 

The decision came against the backdrop of comments made by the head of public health services, Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, who told the committee that the Health Ministry was investigating Wednesday an incident in which 14 people on the same airplane coming from Dubai to Israel tested positive for corona. 

She also said that only 3% of those people who are infected with the virus test positive at the airport, hence the need to isolate and take a second test. 

According to Alroy-Preis, between 60% and 70% of returnees failed to observe home quarantine, which is why the coronavirus cabinet put in place earlier this month the order that all returning Israelis must quarantine in government-run hotels. 

It was also because of fears over the spread of an especially infectious mutation of the coronavirus that has been prevalent in a number of countries, mainly the United Kingdom. Alroy-Preis said that she expects that the world will be more certain that the Pfizer vaccine is effective against the mutation later this week, though most health professionals have already said they believe it will be.

The hotels have been plagued by problems, with those housed in them complaining about filthy rooms, inadequate food, and failure to provide medicine and other necessities. Residents have held protests and even tried to break out of the hotels by force. About half of the returning travelers had managed to convince the exceptions committee that entering these hotels would pose a hardship to them. 

MEANWHILE, the infection rate has been spiking across Israel in a big way.

On Wednesday, the Health Ministry reported that 5,583 new cases were diagnosed the day before, with 5.7% of tests returning positive. It is the highest number of cases in one day since October.

Of all those who are infected, some 628 were in serious condition and 162 were on ventilators. There have been 37 deaths reported since Tuesday morning, bringing the death toll since the beginning of the outbreak to 3,293.

As a result of the increase in morbidity, the ministry reported that many Israelis were being contacted via the surveillance program of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and being sent into quarantine. When people call to the ministry’s hotline *5400 to ask about the text message, they are experiencing unusually long waiting times and are sometimes even disconnected. 

Nonetheless, the ministry said that people must enter isolation when they receive the text message and cannot leave home quarantine until they have appealed and received confirmation that their appeal has been approved.

“The Health Ministry is working to improve availability and service levels as soon as possible,” it said in a statement.

As a reminder, people are expected to isolate for 14 days. However, isolation can be shortened to 10 days if the individual takes two coronavirus tests at least 24 hours apart with negative results. The second test must not be before day nine of isolation. 

During the Knesset meeting, Alroy-Preis spoke about the growth in infections, saying that it was necessary to continue operating in a state of emergency. When she spoke, MKs accused her of being “populist” and exaggerating the situation.

“I must say that I have a hard time with these attacks that attribute all sorts of manipulations to us,” Alroy-Preis responded. “We show data transparently.”

She added that the mortality rate in Israel rose 17% this year as a result of the pandemic.

The country is currently operating on two tracks: lockdown and vaccination.

Health Minister Yuli Edelstein reported Wednesday morning that Israel vaccinated nearly 152,000 people in a single day on Tuesday. More than 600,000 Israelis have been inoculated so far.