LETTER FROM JERUSALEM
The Israeli Ministry of Health has so far identified 49 cases of coronavirus infection in the country. It’s still very little and yet the authorities, who want to be "The strictest" to the world, keep announcing new preventive measures. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video posted on his Twitter account on Monday that anyone arriving in Israel will be in their forties for two weeks to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus in the country. According to Haaretz, his defense minister, Naftali Bennett, is considering the possibility of closing the crossing points to Palestine, from which some 120,000 workers go to Israel daily, and where there are currently twenty -five cases of infection.
20,000 people in quarantine
It is the mark of an Israeli singularity, a small country of 9 million inhabitants which maintains only limited links with its neighbors, with the exception of Palestine. It has the means to close, and to follow in detail the existing cases from a single international airport: most of the approximately 20,000 people today placed in quarantine at home, for a period of fourteen days, the were on their return from abroad.
Few states have also stated with such clarity the expected tightening of their preventive measures if the epidemic spreads. The Israelis, accustomed to following the preventive security instructions of the army, and not very confident in a health system in need of investments, seem to be satisfied with this displayed rigor, and pass the sponge on the exaggerations which accompany them.
Among those infected, most were returning from a trip to Western Europe, almost half of them in Italy. One of them had flown with a group of pilgrims who were leaving for Greece. Authorities have not reported any deaths, but the press is closely monitoring the progress of a critically ill patient, a 38-year-old man from the eastern Palestinian part of Jerusalem. She predicts an assured tightening of preventive measures if he were to succumb.
Goofy measures
The Purim festivities have already been canceled this week, causing losses of up to 46 million euros. Chief Rabbi of Israel David Lau urged people to "Do not touch or kiss the mezuzah", this scroll of parchment placed at the entrance to Jewish homes, as is customary.
