The Foreign Ministry has entered “corona emergency mode” in all of its delegations abroad.
By LAHAV HARKOVIsraelis gather to watch the annual Independence Day flyover.(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Israeli delegations abroad will not be holding major Independence Day events this year in light of the coronavirus crisis, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.The Foreign Ministry has entered “corona emergency mode” in all of its delegations abroad and is holding daily assessments of the virus’s spread in all regions. The ministry has been preparing daily reports based on the delegations’ self-reporting about the spread of COVID-19 in their areas, with an emphasis on school closings, event cancellations, flight cancellations and other preventative steps taken by the local government, as well as the number of infected people and deaths.Foreign Minister Israel Katz said his ministry “is committed to protecting the State of Israel’s emissaries in the world and will take all necessary steps to prevent their catching the virus and harming the delegations’ work.”Security staff in foreign delegations have received instructions about contact with people arriving at their offices to receive visas and other documents. The Israeli Consulate in New York, for example, canceled all face-to-face meetings and will provide services via mail.In that vein, all Independence Day parties have been canceled, and ceremonies for Holocaust Remembrance Day and Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism will be smaller than in past years.Diplomats have also been ordered to reduce their travels within the countries in which they are posted.In countries with a significant coronavirus outbreak, diplomats’ families have been permitted to return to Israel, where they would have to follow quarantine rules. Some diplomats, such as those in Italy, have been allowed to work from home to avoid public transportation.The Foreign Ministry said it was considering having some embassies work with only a skeleton staff, and its headquarters in Jerusalem is preparing for the possibility of a mass quarantine in which workers will have to stay home.On Monday, an Israeli working in the Israeli Embassy in Athens was found to have been infected with the coronavirus, along with two members of his family. They were on a flight with the group of Greek tourists to Israel who were infected.The Israeli Embassy in Greece was closed on Monday and underwent sterilization according to the Israeli Health Ministry’s instructions and in coordination with the Greek Health Ministry.