Israel bans foreigners coming from East Asian countries over virus fears

As part of efforts to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri on Monday said Israel would ban all non-Israelis who were in four East Asian countries and territories in the previous 14 days.

Until now, travelers coming from Thailand, Singapore, and the semi-autonomous Chinese cities of Hong Kong and Macau had to quarantine themselves for 14 days, under Health Ministry directives issued on Sunday.

The new restrictions by Deri were advised by the Health Ministry, Hebrew media reported.

This move by Israel is what we hope the Nordic countries would impose too, merely to prevent the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus. No xenophobia here, just a good move in the long run.