Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu orders restrictions placed on entry of tourists from Australia, Italy amid coronavirus epidemic, forms team to monitor disease’s spread.

PM convened a special meeting Sunday at the Health Ministry emergency situation room, to discuss the spread of the coronavirus.

The meeting included Health Minister Yaakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism), government ministers, ministry director generals, the head of the National Security Council (NSC) and other senior officials. The assessment was in continuation of previous discussions, ongoing updates and recent developments.

The prime minister ordered the formation of a ministerial team to monitor and combat the spread of the coronavirus, and expanded restrictions on tourists entering Israel, adding Australia and Italy to the list of countries affected.

“We are continuing preparations to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Israel. We are holding daily assessments. Today, I will appoint a ministerial team to convene on a daily basis in order to deal with this major challenge,” said Netanyahu.