Public Health head: Airport closed for reasons of ‘equality’
A report published online by the CDC last month found “evidence of asymptomatic transmission of COVID-19 on an airplane.”
By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMANTel Aviv, Ben Gurion Airport (photo credit: BERTHOLD WERNER/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
The government’s decision to extend restrictions to departing flights from Ben-Gurion Airport through October 14 was made for reasons of equality, Health Ministry head of public health Sharon Alroy-Preis said Thursday.It was difficult to tell Israelis not to travel farther than a kilometer from their home when “someone who has money can buy a plane ticket and travel somewhere else,” she told KAN News.Since the government voted to implement a lockdown last month, only people who already bought tickets or have a special need to travel will be allowed to fly out. The vast majority of Israelis will now have to stay put for at least the coming two weeks.“I think the justification for this is more for equality’s sake,” Alroy-Preis said.“From a health perspective, flying poses a risk because [planes] are crowded and enclosed,” she said.A report published online by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month found “evidence of asymptomatic transmission of COVID-19 on an airplane.”It highlighted previous studies of in-flight transmission of other infectious respiratory diseases, such as influenza and SARS. Sitting near a person with such an illness was a major risk factor for transmission, it said.Government regulations allow Israelis who purchased their flight tickets before September 25, the date the lockdown began, to fly.Others who need to make an urgent trip must receive special permission from the Transportation Ministry.Travel by foreign residents and diplomats out of Israel is not restricted. But they are required to fill out a form before their departure and to arrange a reentry permit even if returning from a “green” state.Documentation confirming exceptions must be presented upon arrival at the airport, and forms will be available at the entrance to the terminal. Prospective travelers will be vetted by airport staff, and if they do not present the proper forms or fail to meet the required criteria, they will be told if they cannot travel and may even be barred from entering the terminal building.Arriving Israeli travelers and those with permission to enter, including new immigrants, are free to return. But they must adhere to the rules of entry that include self-isolation when coming back from a “red” country.Later on Thursday in a Facebook briefing, when a questioner asked why he could not travel abroad, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the reason was to avoid gathering and to maintain solidarity.
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