Following the WHO�s lead, health officials in Tel Aviv on Thursday afternoon announced Israel was raising the pandemic alert level from 4 to 5, realizing that while the number of serious cases around the world is extremely small, there does not seem to be any slowdown in the spread of the potentially fatal illness.
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The Health Ministry added it will be purchasing enough pharmaceuticals to treat 30% of the population in the event of the continued spread of the illness chas v�sholom.
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Regarding Israelis arriving on Thursday from Mexico, a physician and other health officials will inspect the passengers in Ben-Gurion International Airport. They are being asked to voluntarily remain home for a one-week period, to avoid mingling in populated areas. Other countries, such as S. Korea, have positioned thermal cameras to inspect all arrival passengers for any sign of fever.
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Two people suspected of having been infected are being checked and treated in according to protocol. A 75-year-old female recently returned from Mexico and is in isolation in Laniado Hospital in Netanya. The signs of flu became apparent four days following her return. A 9-year-old girl is in isolation in Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba. She too is exhibiting flu signs and symptoms.
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Unwilling to take chances, the ministry is also assigning physicians at all of the nation�s border crossings to check anyone entering who may be suspicious, primarily travelers arriving from areas with the infection. The Foreign Ministry is now expected to release a travel advisory for Mexico, a move it avoided until now, but with the WHO move to raise the pandemic level, it is prompting a serious response among Israeli officials.
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Officials will be meeting daily to assess the situation, and a hotline number has been set up by the Health Ministry, manned from 07:00-19:00. The number are 972-3-6951541, or *3090.

(Yechiel Spira � YWN Israel)