IDF tells troops in closed units to prepare for another closure

With a rise in coronavirus cases, the military warns of a possible third closure.

By ANNA AHRONHEIM
IDF cadets at Base 80 will be allowed to quarantine at home (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
IDF cadets at Base 80 will be allowed to quarantine at home
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
With a rise in novel coronavirus cases in Israel, the IDF is preparing for another lockdown and has informed troops on closed bases to prepare for an extended stay.
The military updated its guidelines on Monday, informing all troops in units where they don’t go home on weekends to prepare for an extended stay for a period of up to a month.
This would be the third closure for IDF troops since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
In September, the military told the same thing to all combat soldiers, as well as those currently in training and to those in units where they remain on base for weekends, following the Yom Kippur holiday. At the time, some 1,190 service members had tested positive for the virus and another 13,038 were in quarantine.
There are currently 182 soldiers ill with the virus and another 2,613 in quarantine. While it is significantly less than in September, it is still on the rise.
In March, the IDF also kept troops on base and suspended all training for reservists until after the end of the Passover holiday on April 15.
At open bases, soldiers have been instructed to work in shifts while maintaining capsules in an attempt to reduce contact. All events in closed spaces must not have more than a third of the capacity and no more than 150 people. If there are civilians present, troops must remain separate from them.
Troops who go abroad as part of a military operation must perform a coronavirus test at a military facility; those who go on vacation as civilians to locations such as the Dead Sea or Eilat must perform a coronavirus test at a civilian facility.
Military personnel on duty serving in Eilat are required to perform a coronavirus test once a week, either at civilian locations or at one of the rapid test sites at the entrance to the city.
The military is also recommending that all reservists take a coronavirus test at civilian drive-in locations prior to arriving at base.
Israel currently has 9,897 active coronavirus cases with 263 patients in serious condition including 114 on ventilators. Some 2,864 people have died.