SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, isolated from a patient in the US, as virus particles are shown emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the laboratory. (Handout/National Institutes of Health/AFP)

JERUSALEM: Israel has isolated a key coronavirus antibody at its main biological research laboratory, the Israeli defence minister said on Monday, calling the step a "significant breakthrough" toward a possible treatment for the COVID-19 pandemic.