Gov’t Approves Fines for People Who Break Quarantine

The government approved on Sunday a series of emergency regulations initiated by Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan to deal with the coronavirus and protect public health.

As part of the regulations, police and local authority inspectors will be able to impose administrative fines on violators of quarantine orders, with the aim of preventing the spread of the virus and the infection of the population.

A fine of NIS 5,000 will be imposed for breaching the quarantine obligation. For a breach of duty of reporting to the Health Ministry about entering  isolation or returning from a state requiring isolation, a fine of NIS 3,000 will be imposed. A fine of NIS 5,000 will be given for violating a police officer’s order for a dispersal of a gathering which violates the ministry’s orders.

In addition, regulations aimed at preventing the coronavirus from spreading into prisons have been approved, with the aim of protecting the population of prisoners and detainees more exposed to the virus from being densely packed in a closed facility.

Under the new regulations, hearings on the extension of detentions will take place without the physical presence of the detainees, and will be conducted by technological means such as a video call or a telephone video call. In addition, visits to prisoners and detainees will be restricted, including limiting attorneys’ entries into prison facilities. During the Emergency Regulations application period, consultations with an attorney will be conducted via telephone calls.

According to Erdan, “In order to stop the spread of the coronavirus and protect public health, we must constantly initiate and change routine patterns, and through our initiatives we can win this fateful campaign.”