The Health Ministry on Tuesday confirmed that the number of coronavirus cases in Israel currently stands at 15.
"The patients are under quarantine," the ministry said in a statement, adding that they were suffering from mild symptoms only.
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One of those infected was a ninth-grade high school student. Brener High School in central Israel, which he attends, has suspended all studies for the entire ninth-grade class on Wednesday, ordering anyone who had been in contact with the student to go into self-imposed into quarantine.
According to the Israeli media, over 5,500 Israelis have now been quarantined amid concerns about the global spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Israel has taken far-reaching steps to prevent an outbreak, restricting the entry of foreigners who were in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Italy, and compelling all Israelis who recently traveled to these countries to go into quarantine for 14 days.
In a dramatic step, the Health Ministry has also issued a travel advisory urging Israelis to seriously consider refraining from traveling abroad. A ministry official said a directive was in the works by which all Israelis returning from overseas and suffering from suspicious symptoms would have to be tested, regardless of where they traveled prior to returning to Israel.
On Tuesday evening, IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Hidai Zilberman confirmed that Head of the Operations Directorate Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliwa, who has recently returned from a private vacation in Italy, has also been ordered into self-quarantine.
The latest update from the World Health Organization said that some 91,700 people worldwide were infected with the coronavirus, which has so far claimed 3,100 lives.
