Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday 18 Tishrei convened a discussion on the spread of the Ebola virus, in continuation of a similar discussion held last Monday, 12 Tishrei. At today’s meeting it was decided to emphasize the questioning of travelers arriving in Israel from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, who are most at risk. The questioning will be carried out at air, land and sea entry points into Israel. This will be in addition to the information signs (in Hebrew, English, French and Arabic) posted at the entry points.

Participating in today’s discussion were representatives of the Health, Transportation and Road Safety, Interior, Foreign Affairs and Justice Ministries, as well as from the Airports Authority, the Israel Police and the IDF.

At the end of the discussion Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “The State of Israel is prepared in order to bar the possible entry of people with Ebola, as part of our effort to defend our borders against illegal migrants and terrorism. This is a global plague and we are cooperating with other countries in addition to guarding our borders; we are taking a series of steps to isolate those who are ill, if they arrive, and treat them, of course, in our healthcare system. We hope that this will not be necessary but we are prepared for any eventuality.”

Ben-Gurion International Airport Director Shmuel Zakai said, “We are beginning a very extensive deployment at all border crossings in order to locate and prevent the entry of travelers carrying the Ebola virus.”

Health Ministry Director General Prof. Arnon Afek added “The healthcare system is monitoring the Ebola issue and is in contact with experts around the world. We are improving the preparedness of the healthcare system in order to be able to deal with any people stricken with Ebola should they arrive in Israel.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)