Israel has banned residents from leaving their homes for 'non-essential' reasons and announced it plans to track coronavirus sufferers' phones during the outbreak.

Massively restricting movement, the health ministry ordered people to stay home unless they need to buy food or medicine, seek medical attention, or travel to a workplace where there are no more than ten people. They also suspended all public transport at night.

The Middle Eastern country has reported 324 cases of COVID-19 but no deaths.

Prime minister Netanyahu said that concerns about the spread of the virus trumped those about privacy. He is pictured at a press conference yesterday in Jerusalem

Israel is using anti-terror laws to enable it to harvest data from its citizens mobile phones. These powers are usually reserved for tackling Palestinian-linked terrorists

A directive issued by the government today read: 'You must not leave your homes to visit parks, playgrounds, the beach, the pool or libraries.

'You should maintain social contacts by media and not entertain friends or family unless they live in your building.'

The statement did not say when the new regulations come into force. AFP was unable to immediately reach a health ministry spokesman.

It was released after officials confirmed that Israel would use anti-terror laws to access geolocation data and send alerts to individuals that come into contact with confirmed sufferers.

The spying powers are usually only reserved for tackling Palestinian-linked terrorism.

But an extension of their use for a 'limited period' was signed off by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet on Monday night.

The near-deserted beach front in Ashkelon, Israel, today. The country has now ordered people to stay at home

The near-deserted beach in Ashkelon today. Windsurfers are still seen on the waves

A woman has her temperature checked with a contactless thermometer at the entrance to a retirement home in Ramat Efal district, Israel, today

Israel has adopted sweeping measures to contain the virus. These also include prison sentences of up to six months for anyone breaching isolation orders and police being allowed to use 'reasonable force' to break-up gatherings of ten or more people.

Opposition politicians today claimed the move was a step too far and would 'surrender transparency and oversight' over privacy rules.

But Mr Netanyahu defended the move, saying halting the virus's spread outweighed concerns about the invasion of privacy.

Delaying the measure could also 'lead to the deaths of a great many Israelis', he claimed.

He added: 'These means will help us greatly in locating the ill and thus stopping the spread of the virus.

'We will approve these digital tools for a limited period of 30 days. Israel is a democracy and we have to balance individual rights with the greater needs of all.' Mobile phones constantly receive signals from satellites revealing the owner's movements.

A man wears a facemask at Camel Market, Tel Aviv, yesterday. Israel has reported 324 cases

New measures will see Israel track its citizens mobile phones in order to plot their movements

The new measures will use this data to create a picture of an infected person's movements before they were diagnosed with the virus.

Anyone who may have been exposed to them will then be identified and sent a warning by text message to self-quarantine.

Nadav Argaman, head of internal security agency Shin Bet - Israel's equivalent of MI5 - today confirmed the unprecedented move and moved to reassure concerns over privacy.

He said: 'The other state bodies don't have the necessary technological means to aid this effort.

'I am well aware of the sensitivity of this matter and therefore have instructed that only a very limited number of agents will be handling this and the information will not be saved in the Shin Bet database.'

Anyone who may have been exposed will then receive a message asking them to self-quarantine. Pictured above is a man wearing a face mask in Tel Aviv

Israel will sentence people that do not quarantine themselves to up to six months in prison

Further measures announced by Israel include putting the majority of public sector workers on leave for one month and banning more than 30 per cent attendance in private sector workplaces.

Israel has so far had 324 confirmed cases of Covid-19, but no recorded deaths.

In the Palestinian territories 41 cases have been confirmed in the occupied West Bank, with none in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has already closed schools, malls, restaurants and most leisure spaces as well as limiting gatherings to ten.