( Fox )
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is going into self-quarantine after an aide tested positive for the coronavirus, his office confirmed Monday to Fox News. The prime minister’s office said Netanyahu and his staff will go into quarantine, “until the epidemiological investigation regarding his adviser is completed.” Netanyahu's close advisers are also isolating after his adviser for parliamentary affairs, Rivka Paluch, tested positive for COVID-19. The office told the Associated Press that Netanyahu has undergone a test and will remain in quarantine until he received results or is cleared by the health ministry and his personal doctor. Netanyahu joins other world leaders who have had close-encounters with COVID-19. Boris Johnson, the British prime minister, revealed Friday he tested positive for coronavirus. The wife of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, said Saturday she has recovered from the virus weeks after she fell ill upon returning from a trip to London. German Chancellor Angela Merkel tested negative for the virus last Monday but continued her self-quarantine after a doctor she recently had contact with tested positive for the virus. In Israel, daily life has largely shut down due to coronavirus with tens of thousands out of work and all but essential movement out of the home restricted.
The Israeli government has enacted restrictions that prohibit people from visiting parks, pools, beaches, and museums and also mandate that they limit social interactions and work from home where possible. "Essential" businesses, including supermarkets, pharmacies, and medical facilities will remain open, and workers who have to go to their offices will be allowed to do so. As of Monday, Israel had more than 4,300 confirmed COVID-19 cases and at least 15 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. With the country’s coronavirus crisis worsening by the day, Netanyahu has called for an emergency unity government, most recently in a nationally televised speech Wednesday night. On Thursday his chief political rival, Benny Gantz, was chosen as the new speaker of parliament, an unexpected step that could pave the way to a power-sharing deal between the two men after three bitter and inconclusive elections.