"After a day of complex discussions, we made a decision: Everyone who comes to Israel from abroad will enter the 14-day isolation.
" This is a tough decision, but it is essential to maintain public health - and public health precedes everything," Netanyahu announced in the video statement.
"This decision will be valid for two weeks," he said.
During the weekly cabinet meeting the Israeli prime minister suggested that extreme measures would be taken regarding the virus. "We are in the midst of a global pandemic," the PM told his cabinet on Sunday "even if this has not been declared officially."
There are currently 300,000 Israeli citizens expected to return from abroad, according to Israeli media. This is the equivalent of roughly 3 per cent of the population.
The country has so far recorded 42 cases of Covid-19.
Mfat has so far not updated their travel advisories for the country, but a spokesperson told the Herald that the Ministry "are aware of Israel's new isolation measures for travellers and our advice on SafeTravel is under continuous monitoring and review."