Israelis under home quarantine for coronavirus cast votes at special locations

Voting begins at 16 special polling stations across the country for 5,630 Israelis under quarantine due to concerns of possible exposure to the coronavirus.

The temporary polling stations, made up of two small tents with an adjoining window, are staffed by Magen David Adom paramedics wearing protective gear. Voters are each given a pack with a mask and gloves which they must put on after applying anti-bacterial gel.

The votes, which are placed in a specially lined ballot box, will be sent to the Central Elections Committee after voting ends, where they will counted by staff also wearing protective gear.

At one of the special polling stations just outside the city of Modiin, some 30 people were lining up to vote, with the process for each voter taking around 5-10 minutes each.

“It feels hysterical. It feels over the top. But we will respect it,” says Yishai Akker from nearby the city of Givat Shmuel who returned last week from a family skiing trip to Italy. Asked if he was worried about contracting the virus from other voters, Akker, first in the queue, says, “That’s why we wanted to be first. So that we wouldn’t be in contact with others or materials touched by others.

“But,” he adds, “we didn’t want to give up on the right.”

— Raoul Wootliff