Israel’s government ministers voted on Monday morning to approve the Health Ministry’s recommendation to place ten additional countries under a travel ban: the United States, Canada, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Hungary, Morocco, Portugal, Switzerland and Turkey.

It is the first time that Israel has placed the United States under a travel ban.

The measure must still be approved by the Knesset’s Law and Constitution Committee, which is convening on Tuesday morning only hours before the travel ban is set to go into effect on Tuesday night at midnight.

Meanwhile, Israel’s infection rate has continued to rise, with 1,004 new cases confirmed on Sunday, the highest daily rate since October.

Israel’s coronavirus czar Prof. Salman Zarka said on Monday during a Knesset committee meeting that the Omicron COVID variant has been found in Israel’s sewage system which means that the new variant is more widespread than previously thought, Ynet reported. The variant was found in samples taken a week ago from the sewage systems in Harish, Nesher, Ashdod and Netanya.

Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz also warned about the rapid spread of the Omicron in Israel. “The variant is rapidly increasing and spreading at a rate we haven’t witnessed with past strains,” he said.

Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, the head of the Health Ministry’s Public Health division, also spoke at the meeting, stressing the need to vaccinate, adding that even those who are recovered should vaccinate. “From the data we’re seeing throughout the world, the antibodies of those who have recovered aren’t sufficient to protect against this variant, so it is very worthwhile to get vaccinated,” she said.

On Sunday, Prof. Eran Segal of the Weizmann Institute told Ynet that within two weeks, Israel’s COVID cases will surpass those of previous waves.

“We see an unprecedented spread in Europe and North America, with contagion doubling every couple of days,” he said. “In comparison, the Delta wave that spread faster than earlier ones saw cases double every 10 days. This is a dramatic difference. It means that we will see dozens of cases turn into thousands within two to three weeks and surpass morbidity records.”

“We don’t have proof the variant causes less serious disease but that is our hope,” Segal continued. “We still must be prepared for a substantial wave of morbidity, and even if we find that Omicron does not lead to more hospitalizations, that advantage will be lost quickly because of the rapid contagion rate.”

“The time bought should have been used to provide a long-term response through increased vaccination. Unfortunately, we have not been successful in that respect. We have three million people that have not been fully vaccinated including up to one million children after only 100,000 have received their vaccines. There are 1.2 million who did not receive the booster shots and hundreds of thousands who haven’t been vaccinated at all.”

“I would like to see mobile vaccination sites, especially in areas where the vaccination rates have been low. People should be incentivized to get vaccinated for their own protection.”

“People must know that if Omicron causes a wave of disease, which is very likely, they will come in contact with the virus on a daily basis. Vaccines could protect from infection and from serious illness,” Segal concluded.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)