Israel bans its citizens’ travel to Britain, Denmark, and Belgium starting Wednesday because of the Omicron virus.
At a press conference, a senior Israeli official in health spoke out about the most recent travel restrictions.
Sharon Alroy Preis, Israel’s Head of Public Health at the Health Ministry stated that three countries have been placed on the “red” list due to the Omicron variant’s’significant spread’.
Some 50 countries were added to Israel’s red list since Omicron was found, most of them in Africa.
According to health officials, there were 55 cases confirmed of Omicron infection in Israel.
Israel has banned its citizens traveling to Britain, Denmark, and Belgium since Wednesday because of the Omicron variant. (file photo). Pictured: A group of travelers leave the Ben Gurion International Airport’s coronavirus testing zone.
As around 1,000,000 people refuse to be vaccinated, the country is trying to speed up its vaccination efforts.
Israel seeks to implement stricter mask regulations.
Also, it was decided that Green Pass restrictions would be implemented in Israel at all shopping centers. This means unvaccinated Israelis will not be allowed to enter.
Naftali Bennett, Prime Minister, is being urged to place more restrictions on Israel’s economy in the next few days.
The virus’ spread yesterday reached an unprecedented three-month high, and R-numbers climbed to 1.
The fear is growing that Omicron may infiltrate Israel.
This country is trying to speed up its vaccine drive as well as enforce tighter mask mandates.
To combat the spread of coronavirus, Israel previously banned foreigners from entering Israel for two weeks in November.
All Israelis, including those who have been vaccinated or are entering Israel, must be quarantined.
In an effort to combat the Omicron variant, the country brought back anti-terrorism telephone-tracking technology.
Bennett stated in November that Shin Bet’s counterterrorism agency uses phone-tracking technology to find carriers of this new variant to stop its transmission to others.
This surveillance technology, which was in use intermittently from March 2020 onwards, matched the location of viruses carriers against nearby phones to establish who they had been in touch with.
The Israeli Supreme Court limited their use this year after privacy groups challenged it.
According to Israeli health officials, there were 55 cases confirmed of Omicron. Pictured: In late November, a woman was seen at an east Jerusalem mass-testing site.