Official Forgiven After Waiving Quarantine for Billionaire

A senior health official’s apology for allowing an Israeli billionaire entering the country from abroad to skip the mandatory quarantine was accepted.

Chezy Levy, newly appointed Director-General of the Health Ministry, said on Sunday in a letter to the Ministry’s No. 2, Itamar Grotto, that the latter’s apology was accepted and he would not be punished.

Word of the special treatment for tycoon Teddy Sagi caused a furor last week and Grotto’s job appeared to be hanging by a thread.

Indignation was further inflamed by the disclosure that during Sagi’s visit he attended a social gathering, where the risks of spreading the virus were notable.

A spokesman for Sagi said he requested an exemption from quarantine because he had recovered from the coronavirus and tests showed he carried antibodies against the disease.