After adviser for the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) sector in the Prime Minister's Office Rivka Paluch tested positive for the coronavirus, consultations are now taking place to decide whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will also have to enter isolation. The Prime Minister's Office said, "The epidemiological investigation has not yet been completed. In order to remove any doubt, the prime minister decided that he and his close advisers would remain in isolation until the end of the epidemiological investigation. The Ministry of Health and the prime minister's personal doctor will determine when the isolation period will end."
The initial assessment was that there was no need for the prime minister to enter isolation, because he was not in close contact with Paluch, and did not hold a meeting with her. The Prime Minister's Office said that an initial check found that they had not been in the same room in the past two weeks, but the epidemiological investigation is continuing.
The Prime Minister's Office added, "In recent weeks, the prime minister and his close associates have been scrupulously conforming to the Ministry of Health's instructions. Accompanied by his personal doctor, he is holding most of his discussions through video calls from this residence. The prime minister and his close associates will act according to the Ministry of Health's guidelines."
Netanyahu is also undergoing regular corona virus tests, and such a test is also scheduled in the next 24 hours.
If Netanyahu is forced into isolation, he will have to manage state affairs through zoom calls and telephone calls, which creates the possibility of technological and field security problems involving the ability of the parties involved in these meetings to remotely record the prime minister.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 30, 2020
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