Israel announced Wednesday that it has banned entry for non-citizens unless they hold residency and can prove the center of their lives is in the country.
"After two weeks of restricting entry to travelers who are neither citizens nor residents of the State of Israel, the Ministry of Health has recommended stricter entry prevention measures in order to halt the spread of the Coronavirus," said a statement from the Population and Immigration Authority.
Exceptions will be made for those whose lives are based in Israel, it added. The measure came in to effect immediately.
Israel has 433 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday afternoon, but so far no deaths have been reported.
During an interview with Army Radio on Wednesday, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan predicted that the country was headed for a "full shutdown," warning that "this is an inevitable decision."
Israel had been set to begin drive-through testing stations across the country on Wednesday, but Health Ministry officials were forced to delay due to a shortage of testing kits.
First published: 21:38, 03.18.20