7% of those notified by Shin Bet as being in vicinity of carrier have gone on to test positive

Seven percent of those who have received messages from the Shin Bet notifying them that they had been in the vicinity of a coronavirus carrier have gone on to test positive for the virus themselves, according to figures from the security agency reported by Hebrew media.

Yesterday, cabinet ministers authorized an extension of controversial emergency regulations allowing the domestic spy agency to use sensitive personal data to track carriers.

The extension must still be approved by the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, which is set to convene later today.

The tracking, which uses cellphone location data, credit card purchase data and other digital information, aims to alert and order into quarantine people who were within two meters, for 10 minutes or more, of someone infected with the virus within the preceding two weeks.