Basketball team takes to court with hundreds watching; claims Health Ministry didn’t say couldn’t play after returning 10 days ago from Spain which is under quarantine regulations
The Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team took the court in front of hundreds of fans on Wednesday evening, in violation of Health Ministry regulations aimed at containing the coronavirus.
The team returned from Spain 11 days ago, and retroactive guidelines instituted hours before their game require anyone returning from Spain, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland to enter self-quarantine for a period of 14 days after their last day in those countries.
Officials from Maccabi said they were looking into the matter, but that their players were all feeling healthy. However, the regulations are put in place because those who contract the virus might not notice symptoms for 14 days.
The team also said that they had been in touch with the Health Ministry about holding the game and that the government office never instructed them to call it off entirely.
Health Minister Yaakov Litzman subsequently threatened legal action against the team.
“The violation of the order is a violation of the law and may result in enforcement measures against those who breached it,” warned the ministry.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also criticized the team, saying: “I condemn the fact that Maccabi Tel Aviv didn’t adhere to the quarantine orders, we are thus putting many citizens in danger of infection.”
The game was significantly less attended as fans assumed that it was going to be canceled entirely.
Maccabi fan Efrat told the Sport5 news site that she decided not to attend the game upon hearing about the new Health Ministry guidelines. “Why should I put myself in the same place with people who might turn out to be sick? I think there was some serious irresponsibility on the part of the Health Ministry here,” she said.
But some government officials have come out in criticism of the new guidelines, telling Channel 12 that the increasingly strict restrictions aimed at containing the coronavirus “border on hysteria” and could place the country’s economy in jeopardy.
Over 70,000 Israelis are now reported to be in self-quarantine, foreigners from several European and Asian countries have been or will be banned, and large events, such as concerts and sporting matches, have been canceled due to directives issued by the Health Ministry, which were significantly expanded on Wednesday.
The ministry also announced that gatherings of over 5,000 people will henceforth not be permitted, and people who have returned from anywhere abroad in the past 14 days must not attend gatherings of over 100 people.
The new restrictions were met with a wave of cancellations of Purim street parties marking the upcoming holiday, concerts and sports events.
Earlier Wednesday the Health Ministry ordered hundreds of soccer fans to isolate themselves at home after it was discovered that a teenager who has been diagnosed with the disease attended a major game last week in Tel Aviv. It said anyone in his section of the stadium could be infected.
As reported by The Times of Israel