Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tested positive for COVID-19, his spokesperson said on Wednesday.
According to a statement, the 72-year-old leader of the opposition was "feeling well and following [coronavirus] guidelines."
Netanyahu was in the Knesset on Wednesday before his PCR test came back positive in the morning hours.
Knesset Sergeant-at-Arms Yuval Chen has urged all personnel in the Israeli parliament to adhere to the Health Ministry's testing and quarantine protocols.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid wished Netanyahu a speedy recovery.
"Health comes first," Lapid wrote on Twitter shortly after the erstwhile premier's announcement.
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Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett
(Photo: Emille Salman)
Earlier Wednesday, MK Shirly Pinto of Prime Minister Bennett's Yamina Pary announced that she had also been found positive for coronavirus.
"I'm the 61st MK to have caught it. I'm feeling fine. Thanks to everyone for your concern," she twitted.
Meanwhile, the Knesset Health Committee approved that starting Friday, unvaccinated Israelis will no longer have to self-isolate after coming into contact with a confirmed coronavirus patient unless they are living in the same household.
Consequently, the coronavirus testing requirement for school students will also be abolished.
Vaccinated Israelis or those who have recently recovered from the virus will not be required to quarantine even if they live in the same household as a confirmed patient.