By: Benjamin Brown
International runners have been barred from competing in the Tel Aviv Marathon, set to take place on Friday, as fears over Coronavirus run high in Israel.
Organizers stated that “as a precaution against the potential spread of Coronavirus,” the Ministry of Health had ordered the ban. Marathon officials are set to contact foreign runners and will refund entry fees, the statement read.
Israel has been on edge following the spread of the virus internationally. On Sunday, the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv reported that a second Israeli had tested positive for Coronavirus having returned home from Japan.
The patient was on board the Diamond Princess cruise liner and returned to Israel early Friday morning. The hospital stated that the patient did not contract the virus in Israel and has been quarantined since returning from Japan.
Meanwhile, around 15 Israelis were among some 3,700 passengers trapped on the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in the Japanese port of Yokohama after it was placed under quarantine for two weeks following the discovery of several cases of coronavirus onboard at the beginning of the month.
Dozens of passengers have already been removed from the ship and hospitalized after testing positive for the virus. Two have died of the virus while four Israelis are being treated in hospitals in Japan.
Some 200 people across Israel have been sent into quarantine in their homes after it was discovered over the weekend that a group of South Korean tourists who had recently visited Israel had been infected with the virus. Additionally, 200 South Korean tourists currently in the country are set to be quarantined.
some 30 members of a group of South Korean pilgrims who had recently visited Israel were diagnosed with the virus after returning to their country, where hundreds of civilians have already been infected.
Israel’s Health Ministry launched an investigation to locate the Israelis who may have had contact with the Korean group while it was in Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday announced that Australia and Italy would be added to the list of countries with entry restrictions, joining Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, and China. Foreigners who have traveled to any of the listed countries within the past 14 days will be prohibited from entering Israel, whereas Israeli residents will be forced to undergo a 14-day home quarantine.
The Tel Aviv marathon is, ironically, sponsored by South Korean tech giant Samsung.
(TPS)
