The Knesset’s Constitution Committee discussed this morning (Sunday) the approval of the outline regulations of the Corona Cabinet in front of the Omicron strain.
“The omicron strain is very disturbing because it has a variety of abnormal mutations,” said the head of the public health service at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Sharon Elrai Price, at the beginning of the discussion in which it was reported that the strain that causes panic has 38 mutations in the spike protein.
To date, there are 13 verified and suspected in Israel as verified as a breed. Apart from the foreign worker from Malawi, they live in Raanana, Ramat Gan, Rishon Lezion, Rehovot, Kiryat Malachi, Beer Sheva, Kuseife, Atrash, Lakia, Hura, Umm Batin and the Atzem tribe. The foreign worker, a resident of Raanana and a 21-year-old from Kuseife, are already staying in an isolation lodge in Jerusalem.
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Five of those suspects were discovered tonight. Of the eight previously identified, two have been completely vaccinated with three Pfizer vaccines, and another two have received Johnson and Asterzanica vaccines in the past six months. Of those eight, three have not been abroad at all recently. Three of the others, including the foreign worker from Malawi, have returned from South Africa. The other two – from Jordan and the United Arab Emirates
A senior Ministry of Health official said of the strain that began to spread around the world: “It was discovered a few days ago, and apparently developed in mid-October and has been identified in sequences in South Africa and Hong Kong. We are seeing its very rapid spread in South Africa with mass infections. But we are seeing an increase in mortality in South Africa. “
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Dr. Sharon Elrai Price
(Dana Kopel)
When asked by MK Moshe Arbel (Shas), Dr. Elrai Price noted that the Ministry of Health has no way of reaching the 12 people who were on the bus where the infected person traveled from Tel Aviv to Eilat, to Eilat. Because “there is no desire to activate the GSS’s identities laterally but as a complementary tool to try to identify random contacts that the verifier does not know how to say.”
She also said about the identification of the strain in Israel: “As of yesterday, we knew of one vaccinated person vaccinated with two doses of vaccine who returned from Malawi and two more vaccinated. There were also cases of vaccinated but in a light condition. The Ministry of Health did not support the hermetic closure, but the closure of red countries, African countries and its neighbors. “
According to Dr. Elrai Price, “Because we have no evidence that there are infections in North Africa, we have excluded them but that may change. There was a case of someone in Belgium returning from Egypt, so maybe Egypt would also enter the red states. At present it is not all of Africa to minimize harm. The difficulty with foreigners is both their entry and their follow-up. The woman from Malawi is vaccinated and therefore was not required for isolation. At this stage, we need to stop the entry of foreigners whose ability to monitor us is not possible. “
A Health Ministry presentation presented by Dr. Elrai Price states that 96 verified cases have been detected so far in South Africa, 19 in Botswana, two in Hong Kong and the UK and one in Belgium.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said at the beginning of the weekly cabinet meeting: “We will start with the Omaricon variant news – the strain is spreading in more and more places in the world, and more countries are imposing restrictions. Yesterday at the Corona Cabinet meeting And we will be precise in our steps.
“What I ask of the public is patience and discipline. I understand the fatigue of living in the shadow of the corona, I hear people tell me ‘we just came out of the delta and now a new strain has arrived’. It is not easy for anyone, but that is the reality. .
“To that end, we reassess the situation every day, assess the size and type of threat every day, and adjust the steps and restrictions accordingly. Now we need to tighten the boundaries, to keep the State of Israel open from within. I understand that we may need to change the vacation destination and go into isolation , It happens to me in the family too.
“Restricting state borders is not an easy step, but it is a temporary and necessary step. There are industries that are affected, such as tourism and aviation, and we pay attention to that. Most importantly – when we face a threat we need several layers of protection. We have vaccines. I ask everyone. “Go get vaccinated, it keeps you safe.”
According to the decision approved last night in the Corona Cabinet, the entry of foreigners into Israel from all countries will be banned for two weeks, except in cases approved by the Exceptions Committee. The rest of the decisions made after she was first identified in the South African variant – a foreign worker who came from Malawi – are also for two weeks.
Israelis who are defined as vaccinated or recovering according to the Ministry of Health will perform a PCR test upon landing in Israel, after which they will enter home isolation for at least three days. They will be able to be released from isolation subject to performing a second PCR test on the third day with a negative result. Those who do not perform the additional test on the third day will be required to complete a full 14-day isolation.
Unvaccinated Israelis will perform a PCR test upon landing in Israel, after which they will enter home isolation for at least a week. They will be able to be released from home isolation subject to performing a second PCR test on the seventh day which results in a negative result. Anyone who does not perform the additional test on the seventh day will be required to complete a full 14-day isolation. In addition, it was decided to impose fines on landers who did not undergo a PCR test at the end of the isolation period.
Israelis who have returned from countries defined as red will perform a PCR test upon landing in Israel, after which they will be transferred to solitary confinement at the Corona Hotel until an answer is received. In the meantime, these are two Corona hotels – Dan Panorama Tel Aviv and Dan Panorama Jerusalem.
After receiving a negative answer, the isolators in the hotels will be transferred for further home isolation and on the seventh day they will perform another PCR test. Subject to a negative answer on the second test, they will be released from solitary confinement. Meanwhile, the list of red countries includes 50 African countries – all continents including the Seychelles, Madagascar and Mauritius, and except for North African countries.
In addition, it was decided that the state would inform the Israelis who go abroad that there may be a change in the guidelines when you were outside Israel, and that they will be responsible for complying with the latest guidelines when they return to Israel.
After almost a year, GSS identities will be returned to the vertebrates infected with the new strain. According to the decision, cellular activations operated by the GSS will be used to monitor vertebrates carrying the Omicron strain, in order to locate them and interrupt the transmission chains.
At the same time, the Corona Cabinet decided to tighten the green mark. In enclosed spaces, the green label layout will be applied at a gathering of more than 50 participants instead of the current 100 participants.
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