Ómicron: Verified Cases of New Variant in Israel Rise to 55 Total

Israel today identified 20 more infections of the omicron variant and already has 55 verified cases, while the country’s borders remain closed to foreigners to contain the cases and the Government is considering imposing more restrictions.

According to the Ministry of Health, 36 of the confirmed cases are from Israelis who returned from various countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Hungary, Italy or Namibia.

Eight other people contracted the virus through community transmission, and 11 through contact with infected people who had recently returned from South Africa and England. Health authorities – which have a developed tracking system – are now analyzing 51 other suspected cases of omicron, awaiting final results.

Given the situation generated by the new variant, which appears to be much more contagious, the Israeli Government could impose greater restrictions in the following days, despite the fact that morbidity in the interior of the country has been quite low for several months.

The Executive wants to keep the economy going and avoid the imposition of severe limitations, and to prevent the impact of the new variant, it closed the country’s borders to foreign tourists at the end of November, a measure that has already been extended and will last at least until December 22.

On the other hand, Israelis – who do have permission to travel to countries not classified in the red zone – and foreigners with a residence permit must isolate themselves for at least three days when they return and undergo several PCR tests.

Health experts and authorities are expected to recommend that Prime Minister Naftali Benet impose restrictions on the unvaccinated, such as banning entry to shopping malls and other recreational spaces, reports the Israeli daily Haaretz.

According to local press, Benet already raised this week the option of imposing a selective confinement for the vaccinated population, a proposal that was rejected by the State Attorney General’s Office.

The Israeli government also wants to intensify the vaccination campaign. The country has made great strides in applying the third dose and more than 4.1 million people have already received the booster injection.

However, at this point there are still about 680,000 Israelis – out of a population of about 9.3 million – who have not yet received any vaccinations.

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