TEL AVIV – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday discussed collaborating on the fight against coronavirus, including the development of a home testing kit.

“A few hours ago I spoke with my friend Vice President Pence. It is very important that we have maximum cooperation,” Netanyahu said during a press briefing at the Health Ministry Sunday evening. “Our emphasis is on trying to finish developing a home test, just like they have pregnancy tests or throat culture tests. These make a distinction between sick and healthy people.”

White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Deborah Birx joined a call between the two men, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

The two countries will work towards “technological and scientific cooperation on the issue of the coronavirus and to discuss joint ways of dealing with the challenges posed by the virus,” the statement said.

According to Israel’s Channel 13, Netanyahu will also talk to Pence about enforcing a 14-day quarantine on US citizens entering Israel.

However, Netanyahu on Sunday night said that no final decision on the matter had been made. He added that Israel remains in control of the situation.

“This is not an easy decision. Health is first. It ensures the economy,” he said, referring to the strict measures imposed by the Health Ministry.

The Health Ministry had mulled adding a 14-day quarantine for people entering Israel’s borders from any country.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Naftali Bennett is considering barring Palestinians from entering Israel.

According to his office, Defense Ministry officials will present Bennett tomorrow with a full assessment of the economic impact should all passage between Palestinian Authority-controlled areas and Israel be shuttered for the near future.

Several Palestinians from Bethlehem have been confirmed to have contracted the virus.