A police spokesperson announces the creation of a special unit to help ensure those confined to 14-day home quarantines are not mixing with the rest of the population.
The special police unit will accompany Health Ministry inspectors who have been doing spot visits to make sure those in quarantine are not breaking the rules.
Some 80,000 Israelis are thought to be confined to quarantine, most of them after returning from destinations where there have been outbreaks of COVID-19.
People arrive to vote at a special polling station for voters quarantined due to possible exposure to the new coronavirus in Jerusalem, during the Knesset Elections, on March 2, 2020. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)
The police also say they have opened nine probes into people suspected of breaking quarantine rules.
“The police will work with the state prosecution to bring to justice anyone who chooses to ignore the directions of the Health Ministry and causes, intentionally or not, the virus to spread and harm public health,” a police statement says.
The statement does not say if the number includes the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team, which broke a quarantine to play a game after having been in Spain.
Your next read: ToI Editors' Picks
LIMITED TIME OFFER: Join The Times of Israel Community today and you'll receive a physical book of your choice, carefully curated by our editors.
Choose between two must-reads: When We See You Again by Rachel Goldberg-Polin, a searing portrait of a mother’s grief and strength following unthinkable tragedy;
Or Out of the Sky: Heroism and Rebirth in Nazi Europe by Matti Friedman, the gripping and surprising tale of a forgotten moment during World War II.
As a Community member, you’ll also enjoy our DocuNation series of outstanding Israeli documentary films, an ad-free experience of our site and podcasts, commenting privileges, and more.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel