Soldier who worked at toy store identified as woman with virus

Health Ministry announces movements of female employee at Or Yehuda store, where another staff member was diagnosed with the virus last week after returning from Italy

The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that a soldier was among the three Israelis diagnosed a day earlier with the COVID-19 coronavirus.

The military said in a statement that the female soldier worked at the Red Pirate toy store in Or Yehuda, where another worker was diagnosed with the virus last week after he returned from Italy.

The soldier was put into isolation at the Tel HaShomer Medical Center near Tel Aviv, the military said.

According to the IDF, she visited the health clinic at the military’s Kirya headquarters in Tel Aviv on February 26 and 27 — for an unrelated reason — shortly after coming into contact with her infected coworker.

The military said she was at the clinic between the hours of 10:50 a.m. and 12 p.m. on February 26, and again from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on February 27.

She returned to her base in the morning of February 27, before learning that her coworker was a carrier of the virus that afternoon and being instructed to go into quarantine.

As a result of her visiting the clinic and her base, two doctors were put into quarantine, along with seven soldiers from her unit, the IDF said. The Health Ministry requires people to go into quarantine if they came within two meters (6.6 feet) of someone known to carry the virus for more than 15 minutes.

“More IDF servicemembers and officials who were in contact with the ill soldier will be put into quarantine if needed,” the IDF said.

In total, 359 soldiers were under quarantine as of Monday evening, most of them due to travel to countries with a high incidence of the disease. Another 53 soldiers had been quarantined for two weeks, but have since been released, in accordance with Health Ministry protocol, the military said.

Illustrative — People wearing face masks at Ben Gurion International Airport on February 27, 2020 (Flash90)

The three cases announced Sunday brought the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 10, the Health Ministry said. All three were exhibiting light symptoms only, officials said.

The news came as Israelis were set to go to the polls in national elections. Authorities urged Israelis to vote normally without fear of contracting the virus, with special voting booths set up for those in quarantine.

According to the ministry, the soldier visited a seamstress at the Or Yehuda Mall on February 26, between 12 and 12:30 p.m.

In addition, she traveled on the Kavim bus line 59 from the Jasmine/Hatsav bus stop in Or Yehuda to the bus stop at the David Shipman Bridge Station in Tel Aviv, on February 26 and 27 between 7:50 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.

On February 26 she made the return journey from Tel Aviv to Or Yehuda between 2:15 p.m. and 3 p.m. and on February 27 between 2 p.m. and 2:40 p.m.

In addition, she was in the Red Pirate toy store in Or Yehuda on February 24 from 3 p.m. until 10 p.m.; February 25 from 12:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m.; and February 26 from 3 p.m. until 9:30 p.m.

The ministry said the other two diagnosed Sunday were members of one family who had returned to Israel from Italy on Thursday and live in a community in southern Israel, where they have been in quarantine since their return.

The Health Ministry announced the movements of the three diagnosed, and said that anyone who was at any of those places at those times and may have been exposed to the pathogen must enter a 14-day quarantine and register with the ministry.

The two family members flew to Milan on flight EJ2564 on February 22 and returned on LY290, which landed in Israel at 2:30 p.m. on February 27. Anyone one either of those flights was instructed to enter isolation.

Workers disinfect a shop in Or Yehuda, after a man who works at the shop and returned from Italy tested positive for coronavirus, February 28, 2020. (Flash90)

Israel has taken far-reaching steps to prevent an outbreak, banning entry to foreigners who were in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Italy in the 14 days prior to arriving, and compelling all Israelis recently in these areas to self-quarantine for 14 days.

In a dramatic statement Wednesday, the Health Ministry urged Israelis to seriously consider refraining from traveling abroad.

An ambulance carrying an Israeli man who was diagnosed with the coronavirus after returning from Japan arrives at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer on February 28, 2020. (Jack Guez/AFP)

Israel is the first country to urge its citizens to refrain from international travel entirely because of the outbreak, which started in China in December and has since infected over 88,000 worldwide and claimed over 3,000 lives, almost all of them in China.

The Health Ministry has faced criticism for its extreme measures, with some saying it is unnecessarily panicking people and causing economic and diplomatic damage to the country. Ministry officials have said they prefer to take a strict line than be sorry later.