An El Al Boeing 737. Photo: Reuters / Arnd Wiegmann / File.

Israel’s national airline El Al is suspending all flights to Italy and Thailand as of Thursday due to the spread of the coronavirus, the Israeli news site N12 reported.

This development followed earlier suspensions of flights to Japan, China, and Hong Kong.

According to N12, all flights to Italy will be cancelled until March 14. Flights to Thailand are cancelled until March 27. The opening of a new route to Japan scheduled for April 4 will be postponed. The suspension of flights to China and Hong Kong will be extended until May 2.

El Al said that it would refund all passengers with tickets to these destinations.

Earlier on Thursday, the pilot of a Feb. 23 El Al flight to Milan was found to be infected with coronavirus. The Health Ministry said it was investigating the case and had already traced most of those who came in close contact with the pilot. Everyone on the flight and at a store visited by the pilot have been quarantined.

Shortly after, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri announced a total ban on all visitors from Italy with the exception of Israeli residents and citizens.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the hotline of Israel’s emergency medical service Magen David Adom (MDA) on Thursday and said that MDA would send paramedics to the home of anyone recently returned from traveling abroad in order to test them for the virus.

The prime minister also addressed criticism that Israel had gone too far in its precautions by enacting the travel bans, saying, “Since Israeli citizens’ health is our top priority, we have taken steps that other countries have not taken — we were the first in the world to block flights from countries where the virus appears significant and we also took other steps.”

Israelis, he added, “should know they are in safe hands, responsible hands, and we want to be double cautious, but we also want responsibility, and so I ask citizens to follow instructions, cooperate with the authorities, and of course not to panic.”

“We will issue instructions according to developments,” Netanyahu said, and added that Israel was “the most advanced country in this area, and will continue to be.”

The prime minister sought to reassure citizens that “we can control the disease, we are acting better than any other country in the world, to my knowledge.”