10 staffers at Dead Sea hotel infected with coronavirus
Isrotel will stay closed until Monday.
By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMANAn aerial view shows the Dead Sea shore the dead sea and its surroundings on October 18, 2020. (photo credit: MENACHEM LEDERMAN/FLASH90)
The Isrotel Dead Sea hotel will reopen on Monday, after the Health Ministry shut the facility down when 10 employees were discovered to be infected with the virus over the weekend.“We are working in full cooperation with the Health Ministry and the Home Front Command,” the Isrotel chain said in a statement Saturday night.The employees were all asymptomatic and discovered to have the virus as part of the randomized screening required through the country’s “green island” program. The Health Ministry said that epidemiological investigations are underway.All hotel staff were screened on the day of the discovery and will be screened again in the coming days. The infected staff were members of the kitchen and facilities teams.The hotel staff were sent home and anyone with whom they came in contact was alerted. All Israelis who stayed at the hotel since November 22 were asked to be tested through their local health fund.The hotel opened earlier this month, after the coronavirus cabinet and the Knesset agreed to a “green islands” outline for the city of Eilat and the resort area of the Dead Sea, which rely on tourism and have been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis. Eilat reported nearly 80% unemployment.The program requires that visitors present a negative coronavirus test that was taken within the last 72 hours before arrival. Several rapid-test coronavirus screening stations were set up en route to Eilat and the Dead Sea to make it easier for travelers.In addition to the hotels opening up, the outline allows for the operation of hotels, some tourist attractions, restaurants and key businesses.
