Israel bans int'l travel for soldiers over coronavirus

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israel on Thursday banned its soldiers from traveling abroad over fear of infection with the novel coronavirus.

"Military soldiers, in compulsory or permanent service, should not be allowed to travel abroad, for professional or personal reasons," army spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a statement.

Set to come into effect on Friday, the decision was taken by Army Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi to avoid the widespread of virus and to maintain the operational and vital capabilities of the army.

According to Israeli daily the Jerusalem Post, around 500-600 soldiers have been in quarantine.

The Israeli Health Ministry confirmed 15 coronavirus cases.

The coronavirus, or COVID-19, has spread to more than 80 countries.

It has infected more than 95,000 people and claimed over 3,200 lives globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

As part of their efforts to contain the outbreak, many governments closed their borders and suspended land and air services with the worst-affected countries such as South Korea, Italy and China.

The WHO, which already declared the outbreak an international health emergency, last week upgraded the global risk level to very high.