On 21 February 2020, Israel confirmed the first coronavirus case in the country.
One of 11 Israelis who returned to Israel following a 14-day quarantine on the cruise ship Diamond Princess off Japan’s coast tested positive, according to the Israeli Health Ministry.
The tests at the Israeli Ben-Gurion Airport showed a positive result for one woman, and negative results for the rest. The passenger was believed to have contracted the virus while in Japan before returning to Israel.
The 11 individuals who came back on Friday morning will remain in quarantine for the next two weeks.
“An examination at the Health Ministry’s main laboratory found that one of the passengers tested positive,” the Health Ministry said in a statement. “The lab is continuing to confirm the test results. The patient is in quarantine and under supervision and this is not an infection that occurred in Israel.”