Israeli ambassador to Colombia urges Israelis to fly home by Sunday

23 Israelis were left stranded in Peru on Friday after the final four El Al flights to Israel left without them, and Israelis in Colombia are fearing they might be left in a similar situation.

By IDAN ZONSHINE
Members of the military walk in Bolivar Square during the four-day mandatory isolation decreed by the mayor of Bogota, as a preventive measure against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Bogota, Colombia March 20, 2020. (photo credit: REUTERS)
Members of the military walk in Bolivar Square during the four-day mandatory isolation decreed by the mayor of Bogota, as a preventive measure against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Bogota, Colombia March 20, 2020.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Israeli Ambassador to Colombia, Chris Cantor, tweeted late on Friday night that Israelis currently still in the northern South American country should return home before a nationwide quarantine goes into effect at midnight on Sunday, March 22.
"From Wednesday, March 24 at midnight until April 13, home isolation will be enforced throughout Colombia," he said. 
"We reiterate our recommendation for Israelis to return to Israel as soon as possible via commercial international flights still departing from Bogota."
Once commercial flights stop, getting Israelis out of the country may prove challenging, as the ban on flights is even longer than the quarantine, and is scheduled to last an entire month, until April 24.
The embassy further elaborated that, while the capital Bogota began a four-day quarantine drill on Friday, the airport will remain open and Israelis would be allowed to travel as long as they present a valid passport and flight ticket.
Twenty-three Israelis were left stranded in Peru on Friday after the final four El Al flights to Israel left without them, and Israelis in Colombia fear they might be left in a similar situation.
President Ivan Duque announced the 19-day quarantine on Friday night, the most dramatic measure taken so far in the effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Colombia currently has 158 confirmed cases of coronavirus, but with no deaths reported so far. 


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