Israel's Netanyahu in self-quarantine after staffer tests positive for coronavirus

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went into precautionary quarantine on Monday after one his staffers tested positive for the coronavirus, as the veteran premier seeks a unity government to combat the pandemic.

Netanyahu's office stressed the quarantine was strictly a precaution as the veteran right-wing prime minister had not been in recent proximity to the ill staffer.

A statement from the Knesset, Israel's parliament, identified the staffer as Rivka Paluch, Netanyahu's parliamentary aide, noting three dates she had been in the building.

A statement from Netanyahu's office said that according to "a preliminary assessment...there is no need for the prime minister to be quarantined, as he did not come into close contact with the individual and did not personally meet with that person."

"Over the past two weeks the two were never in the same room at the same time," it added.

The statement further noted that the "epidemiological investigation" was ongoing and that Netanyahu and "his close staff would be in confinement until (tests) were completed."