First Covid-19 case confirmed in Israel in returnee from quarantined cruise

The other dozen Israeli passengers who have flown home from Diamond Princess, docked at the coast of Japan, have all tested negative for novel coronavirus.

Israel confirmed its first case of new coronavirus Friday, in a citizen who flew home from Japan earlier this week after being quarantined on the stricken cruise ship Diamond Princess.

Israeli Professor Galia Rahavm, head of infectious diseases, is seen in one of the rooms where returning Israelis will stay under observation and isolation at the Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer in Ramat Gan, Israel. (REUTERS)

“One of the passengers who returned home from the cruise ship in Japan tested positive in a checkup by the health ministry’s central laboratory,” a ministry statement said, adding that the other dozen Israeli passengers who had flown home had all tested negative.