The IDF's Policies on COVID-19

The IDF has implemented the following essential policies to limit the spread of COVID-19 and maintain its operational capabilities.

• All soldiers are prohibited from traveling abroad on personal or official purposes unless in exceptional circumstances with explicit approval.
• All soldiers returning from abroad are subject to a 14-day self-quarantine.
• Any soldier suspected of coming into contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 will be placed in a 14-day home quarantine.
• All meetings in the IDF are limited to 10 people, gatherings in closed spaces are limited to 50 people, and gatherings in open spaces are limited to 100.
• All soldiers are expected to maintain a distance of at least 2 meters from one another.
• Soldiers are unable to take transportation from central bus stations on Sunday mornings until noon and on Thursday afternoons after noon. 
• All soldiers are required to wear masks in all civilian and military locations, including in gatherings and meetings. 
• Soldiers may be subjected to working in shifts in an effort to limit potential contact.
• Soldiers are not permitted to travel on trains on Sundays and Thursdays.
• All soldiers on an open base required to go into isolation will be isolated at home.
• If a soldier’s family member is found to have COVID-19, the soldier will either remain on a closed base or enter an isolation hotel propped up by the IDF.
• No more than 100 people may eat in the cafeteria at a time. The only exception is in extraordinarily large bases with dividing sections in the cafeteria and have been delegated as such (where the limit will be 250).
• Those who are suspected of being sick will be evacuated according to the guidelines provided by the Medical Corps.
• Units will reduce the sizes of shifts as much as possible.
• Commanding officers (for instance, at the level of Command and Brigade) will be strictly separated into two shifts.
• All preliminary sorting processes for incoming draftees will be conducted online or will have a filtering process online to cap the in-person process at 60 civilians.
• The IDF has reopened the Ashkelon recovery village to host soldiers with COVID-19 with mild symptoms.
• The IDF has established a Coronavirus Task Force to help centralize the efforts against COVID-19 and cut off the chain of infection.

The IDF will continue to conduct regular situational assessments and update its protocol in line with the Ministry of Health’s guidelines.