March 30 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his aides should not have to quarantine even though an adviser tested positive for the coronavirus, his office said Monday.
Netanyahu's office said cameras in the Knesset showed that the prime minister and staffers didn't spend enough time near the infected aide, parliamentary adviser Rivka Paluch, to require quarantine.
An epidemiological study was conducted after Paluch tested positive, forcing Netanyahu to temporarily isolate himself until it was completed. The results have not yet been released.
"We would like to stress that the prime minister and those around him strictly adhere to health minister regulations, in conjunction with his personal physician, and [he] holds most of his conferences via video," Netanyahu's office said. "The prime minister and his surroundings will keep obeying health ministry guidelines."
Doctors tested Paluch for the coronavirus disease after her husband was admitted to a hospital with COVID-19 last week. She said she hadn't been close to Netanyahu and doesn't believe she infected anyone.
Netanyahu and Paluch were not seen in the Knesset footage in the same room for any extended time over the past two weeks. They did, however, meet briefly last week.
The prime minister was tested for the coronavirus but was expected to be retested Monday.