Israel's health minister tests positive for coronavirus

Israeli Health Minister Yaakov Litzman and his wife Chava have tested positive for coronavirus, a statement from his office said on Thursday.

Litzman and his wife both "feel good, receive the appropriate care and will stay in home quarantine and under supervision in accordance with Health Ministry instructions," the statement said.

The German-born rabbi, who emigrated to Israel 20 years after the Holocaust and lives in Jerusalem, is 71 years old and of the ultra-Orthodox Ashkenazi United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party.

Coronavirus has spread much more quickly in ultra-Orthodox areas compared to secular parts of Israel.

Authorities had been concerned that members of the ultra-Orthodox community were slow to implement a government-ordered lockdown.

The majority of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jews, who number over 1 million of the country's population of 9 million, have now begun to abide by the lockdown.