About 245 Israelis who returned from abroad in the past two weeks tested positive for the coronavirus, Ynet reported on Wednesday.

Thirty of the coronavirus carriers returned from the US, 27 from Ukraine, 26 from the UAE, 16 from Turkey, 11 from Russia, 8 from the Netherlands and 4 from the UK.

All of the above countries are designated as “red” by Israel, which means that all passengers must quarantine upon arriving in Israel, with the exception of the UAE, which has been excluded from the list due to diplomatic concerns.

However, since there were about 44,000 Israelis who returned to Israel from abroad in the past two weeks, the percentage of those who tested positive for the virus is very small.

Another news report on Wednesday said that 248 Israelis who flew home from Dubai on an El Al fight last week were instructed to enter quarantine after four fellow passengers tested positive for COVID-19.

One of the passengers was the head of Hadassah Medical Center, Prof. Zeev Rotstein.

The Health Ministry said on Sunday that they expect about 240 Israelis returning from the UAE in the month of December to test positive for the coronavirus.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)