Magen David Adom to run coronavirus polling stations

Staff could not be found to man polls for quarantined.

By GIL HOFFMAN
IF IT takes another round of elections to get the Likud to act, let it be. (photo credit: REUTERS)
IF IT takes another round of elections to get the Likud to act, let it be.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The 12 to 15 tents that will be erected around the country to enable Israelis exposed to the coronavirus to vote will be staffed by Magen David Adom workers, Central Elections Committee head Orly Ades told the Knesset Finance Committee on Tuesday.
Workers could not be found to run the polling stations for the quarantined, so Magen David Adom director-general Eli Bin volunteered his own staff, she said.
“No one was willing to work there,” she said about the special polling stations.
The MDA workers will wear masks, gloves and take other precautions to prevent the spread of the virus, Ades said. The number of special polling stations was constantly changing as Israelis go in and out of isolation, she added.
“I really hope we do not get to a heavy cost and we can minimize other costs so we will not need additional budgets,” she told the committee.
Health Ministry director-general Moshe Bar-Simantov issued a directive on Sunday that anyone quarantined who is not showing signs of being sick from the virus could vote. But they must wear a mask and not take public transportation, he said.
The original date for the current election that was mandated by law was Tuesday, March 10. Instead, the Knesset voted to set the date for March 2, because March 10 is the Purim holiday, when Jews traditionally wear masks and other costumes.
But despite the intentions of the MKs when they dispersed the Knesset, Israelis will be voting in masks after all.