British Ambassador to Israel in self-isolation after virus case on flight

Britain’s ambassador to Israel is in self-isolation, after someone on his flight to the UK tested posotive for coronavirus.

Envoy Neil Wigan took to social media to make the announcement, asking for suggestions for ways to pass the time.

He said: “A passenger on my flight from Israel to Britain has tested positive for Corona. So I am in self isolation. All suggestions for books, films, TV shows etc welcome – particularly from Israel”.

Neil Wigan took over as British Ambassador to Israel in May 2019, having previously served at the Tel Aviv embassy as a political attache between 2002 and 2006.

This comes in the wake of over 100 cases of the infection being diagnosed in Israel, amid sweeping measures taken by the government to slow its spread.

It imposed a number of tough restrictions, including placing tens of thousands of people into protective home quarantine, ordering all Israelis who return from overseas into quarantine and barring almost all tourists from entering the country, with a mandatory isolation period of two weeks.

Elsewhere, its national carrier, EL AL, is stopping key routes by Sunday, apart from to the UK, Paris, the US, Canada and South Africa, while putting 80 percent of its staff on indefinite leave.