5 volunteer medics nabbed over ‘pirate’ coronavirus testing scheme

Police on Wednesday announced the arrest of five volunteers with the Magen David Adom ambulance service suspected of administering “pirate” coronavirus tests across Israel and in some cases falsifying their results.

The suspects, residents of Jerusalem in their 20s and 30s, traveled around the country — including to Ben Gurion Airport — and administered tests for a fee, raking in tens of thousands of shekels, according to a police statement.

They sent the tests to be processed at a private lab in Jerusalem and one in the West Bank city of Ramallah to avoid having them be included in the Health Ministry database, police said.

Some of the test results are suspected of having been falsified, allowing Israelis to display a negative coronavirus test rate when leaving the country from Ben Gurion Airport.

Police said four of the five suspects had their remand extended until Friday.

“The suspects took public health into their own hands while undermining the importance of accurate coronavirus testing, the goal of which is to prevent infection and help Israelis survive the epidemic with the fewest deaths possible,” the police statement said.

It accused the suspects of being driven by “greed,” adding that police were determined to bring them to justice.

The statement did not say how many such tests the suspects allegedly administered.

Police said the undercover investigation was opened after MDA reported suspicions that a volunteer was performing coronavirus tests for a fee.

MDA hailed the announcement of the arrests and said it halted the suspects’ involvement in its operations.

“This is a very grave and irregular case that requires those involved be brought to justice,” the ambulance service said.