Nishmat's Women’s Health and HalachaIn memory of Chaya Mirel bat R' Avraham

  • Hebrew
  • English
  • Espnaol
  • Francais
  • donate
Menu

Coronavirus quarantine and mikveh

29 February, 2020
Question:

I just came back to Jerusalem from a business trip to Italy, and was told I need to be in isolation for 14 days in case I contracted Coronavirus. I’m supposed to go to the mikveh in 5 days. What do I do?


Answer:

We appreciate the sensitive nature of this question.

According to Israel’s Health Ministry guidelines, a person in quarantine may not leave the house, not even for mikveh immersion. This policy is in tune with the halacha of not endangering others’ lives, which takes precedence over mikveh immersion. As difficult as delaying immersion can be, remember that during quarantine you need to avoid physical contact with others, including family members and even your husband, to help protect them from possible infection.

Once you’ve finished the clean days, you can switch to colored undergarments even though your immersion will be delayed. No further bedikot are necessary before you go to mikveh.

We wish you a peaceful and healthful two weeks. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

This internet service does not preclude, override or replace the psak of any rabbinical authority. It is the responsibility of the questioner to inform us of any previous consultation or ruling. As even slight variation in circumstances may have Halachic consequences, views expressed concerning one case may not be applied to other, seemingly similar cases. All health and health-related information contained within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is intended to be general in nature and should not be used as a substitute for consulting with your health care professional. The advice is intended to offer a basis for individuals to discuss their medical condition with their health care provider but not individual advice. Although every effort is made to ensure that the material within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is accurate and timely, it is provided for the convenience of the Web site user but should not be considered official. Advice for actual medical practice should be obtained from a licensed health care professional. For further questions or comments:  The Nishmat Women's Health and Halacha Site is a public service of Nishmat, The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women. This project and others like it are made possible by contributions from people like you. If you have benefited from the service, and wish to enable us to help others, click here to donate.
Users of Internet filtering services: This site discusses sensitive subjects that some services filter without visual indication. A page that appears 100% complete might actually be missing critical Jewish-law or medical information. To ensure that you view the pages accurately, ask the filtering service to whitelist all pages under yoatzot.org.

Accessibility Toolbar