Tens of thousands of citizens received notifications from the Health Ministry instructing them to go into isolation due to having been in close proximity to a confirmed Covid-19 Coronavirus patient. The information came to the Health Ministry based upon Israel’s Security Service (Shabak – ISS) pinpointing people’s locations and following those who are confirmed cases of Corona. This amount of messages has gone out since Thursday’s reinstatement of the ISS monitoring the whereabouts of confirmed patients via their phones.

A statement made by the ministry said: “We understand the difficulties that this action (of monitoring) creates for the public, but it is important to remember that it is an incredibly helpful tool in creating an epidemiological track record of the whereabouts of ill patients and it can save lives.”

Hundreds of people have been calling the Health Ministry to contest the results and the instructions which they have received. This has caused an overflow for the Health Ministry hotline.

The Health Ministry said that they are aware of the overload on the phone system and the lengthy wait times that people have to endure. They said that they are currently working to fix the problem.

“The Health Ministry is working to improve the wait times and the level of availability and service at the earliest opportunity. This will improve in the coming days as more people are added to our call center. Anyone who receives the text message must comply with the instructions and enter into isolation immediately. People must comply with the instructions in the text message until they receive further instructions.”