The first case in Israel was confirmed on 21 February 2020, when a female citizen tested positive for COVID-19 at the Sheba Medical Center after return from quarantine on the Diamond Princess ship in Japan.

[6] On 19 March, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a national state of emergency, saying that existing restrictions would henceforth be legally enforceable, and violators would be fined.

Among the languages: English, Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, Amharic, French, Spanish, Ukrainian, Romanian, Thai, Chinese, Tigrinya, Hindi, Filipino.

[28] By the third week in March, El Al, Israel's national air carrier, responded to a government request to send rescue flights to Peru, India, Australia, Brazil, and Costa Rica to bring home hundreds of Israelis who were stranded around the world due to the worldwide pandemic.

[35][36] The order was effective immediately for all returning Israelis, and would apply beginning on 13 March for all foreign citizens, who must show that they have arranged for accommodation during their quarantine period.

The list of venues required to close included: malls, restaurants, hotel dining rooms, pubs, dance clubs, gyms, pools, beaches, water and amusement parks, zoos and petting zoos, bathhouses and ritual baths for men, beauty and massage salons, event and conference venues, public boats and cable cars, and heritage sites.

Overall, Abulof and Le Penne argue, Israel features key factors that could have helped it weather well the COVID-19 crisis: a young population, close or otherwise heavily monitored borders, warm climate, an efficient public health system, hard-earned public resilience, willingness for mass mobilization, high-tech capacities (to help gather and spread information), and meager reliance on tourism.

[60] On 15 March, the Israeli government proposed allowing the Israel Security Agency (ISA) to track the prior movements of people diagnosed with coronavirus through their mobile phones.

[62][63] On 17 March, at 1:30 AM, a Knesset committee approved the contact-tracing program,[64] making Israel the only country in the world to use its internal security agency (Shin Bet) to track citizens' geolocations.

Police arrested three protesters for violating the ban on gatherings over 10 people, and also blocked dozens of cars from entering Jerusalem and approaching the Knesset building.

[70] Cellphone-based location tracking proved to be insufficiently accurate, as scores of Israeli citizens were falsely identified as carriers of COVID-19 and subsequently ordered to self-quarantine.

[76] News reports showed hundreds of Israelis ignoring the new ban on Shabbat, 21 March, and visiting beaches, parks, and nature spots in large numbers, prompting the Ministry of Health to threaten imposing tighter restrictions on the public.

The new law was passed on the same day that the World Health Organization questioned the efficacy of face masks for protecting healthy individuals from catching the virus.

[82] The Health Ministry's rules on indoor gatherings, which were reduced from 100 to 10, still took into account the minimum number of members needed for a minyan (public prayer quorum).

With stricter restrictions placed on citizens on 25 March (see below), the two Chief Rabbis of Israel called for all synagogues to be closed and prayer services to be held outdoors in groups of 10, with 2 m (6 ft 7 in) between each worshipper.

Burial workers will be garbed in full protective gear to perform the taharah (ritual purification) of the body, which will then be wrapped in the customary tachrichim (linen shrouds) followed by a layer of plastic.

[94] On 2 April, the cabinet voted by conference call to declare Bnei Brak a "restricted zone", limiting entry and exit to "residents, police, rescue services, those bringing essential supplies and journalists", for an initial period of one week.

The closure impacted Mea Shearim, Geula, Bukharim Quarter, Romema, Mekor Baruch, Sanhedria, Neve Yaakov, Ramat Shlomo, and Har Nof.

The closure was opposed by the Mayor of Jerusalem, Moshe Lion, who reportedly told the government cabinet members: "Take the Ramot neighborhood for example — 60,000 residents and 140 of them sick.

[122] On 6 July 2020, following over two weeks of continued increase in the number of new daily cases, Netanyahu announced new social distancing guidelines, approved by the government.

On 23 September 2020, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced stricter lockdown rules after a new daily coronavirus record of 6,923 infections was reported in Israel.

[147][148] On 30 September, Israel's parliament passed a law limiting demonstrations which the opposition said was intended to curb protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged corruption and his mismanagement of the coronavirus crisis.

Rules include:[175] Green passes can be generated for those who have recovered from the virus or who are fully vaccinated (1 week after the second dose) using the Ministry of Health's Traffic Light app.

[197] On 23 April 2021, Israel issued a travel warning for Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, and Ukraine due to their high COVID-19 morbidity rates.

[198] On 2 May 2021, the government banned the travel of Israelis to India, to Mexico, to South Africa, to Brazil, to Ukraine, to Ethiopia and to Turkey unless they receive special permission.

[220] Despite having administered enough doses to fully vaccinate 98.6% of the country,[221] Israel health authorities expressed concern about breaking the record for serious infections in late January 2022.

[232] Reasons for the increased case numbers include crowded living conditions, and prioritizing continuity of religious routines, such as synagogue services and Torah study at yeshivas.

In exchange, Israel has committed to send Pfizer medical data pertaining to the vaccinations, including side effects, efficacy, and amount of time it takes to develop antibodies, for different age groups.

[275][276] On 14 December 2020, it was announced that the Health Ministry had approved the launch of a Phase II clinical trial for the Israel Institute for Biological Research's vaccine candidate, BriLife.

[280] On 17 March, the Defense Ministry tightened restrictions on Palestinian workers, limiting entry to those working in essential sectors, and requiring that they remain in Israel instead of commuting.