Health minister hits back at COVID airport criticism: ‘We didn’t make mistakes’

Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz responded Monday to criticism leveled at the new government over a sharp rise in coronavirus cases sparked by the Delta variant of the virus that entered the country via Ben Gurion Airport, Israel’s main gateway to the world.

Visiting the new coronavirus testing facility at the airport alongside Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Horowitz said that the Health Ministry and Defense Ministry — the latter runs the site — would “continue working to seal the breach at Ben Gurion Airport and ensure that every passenger who lands is tested and quarantined until they receive a result.”

Health officials have linked the recent spike in infections to travelers who brought back the Delta variant of the virus from abroad and did not properly quarantine after arriving. The resurgence of the coronavirus in Israel has been largely attributed to the spread of the variant, which was first detected in India and is believed to be twice as contagious as the original COVID strain.

Starting on July 16, even Israelis who are vaccinated or who recovered from COVID-19 will need to quarantine upon returning to the country until they have a negative test result or for 24 hours — whichever comes first.

Meanwhile, travelers returning from 16 countries deemed to have high rates of infection will be required to fully self-isolate for 14 days, or 10 days with two negative tests, according to the ministry’s updated guidelines. Unvaccinated individuals must follow the same rules for all countries.

Horowitz said Sunday that increased testing at the airport had succeeded in helping health officials “find the Delta variant and stop its intrusion,” rejecting allegations that the government erred in not shutting down the airport entirely.

“We did not make any mistakes,” he said.

Additionally, a Knesset committee on Sunday approved fines for Israelis who visit or attempt to visit countries with extreme rates of infection, to which Israelis are barred from flying to unless a government committee approves their request.

The countries that are off-limits for Israelis are: Uzbekistan, Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, South Africa, India, Mexico and Russia. Israelis who enter the country after visiting any of those nations can now face a NIS 5,000 ($1,500) fine, and will also be required to enter quarantine until they receive a negative test result.

The Health Ministry said Monday that 423 new cases had been detected the day before, with 0.8 percent of tests coming back positive, up from the 0.6% rate in recent days, and significantly higher than last month’s positivity rate, which hovered near zero on some days.

There were 4,097 active cases and 47 serious cases. The death toll was at 6,438 after seven deaths were confirmed in the last few days, following almost two weeks of no fatalities.

The ministry said 5,730,022 Israelis have received at least one vaccine dose, and 5,193,499 have been fully vaccinated.