Israel’s Health Ministry reported on Thursday that 41 Israelis have been diagnosed with the Indian variant, including 24 who returned from abroad and 17 who were infected in the country, some of whom had not been in contact with returning travelers.

Children are among those infected and the Health Ministry said that the variant has been found at five different schools throughout Israel. Four of the Israelis diagnosed with the Indian variant have been vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The report said that most of the Israelis who returned to Israel with the variant had traveled from India but some had returned from other countries. All of the passengers who tested positive for the variant upon arriving in Israel had boarded their planes with a negative coronavirus test.

Some health officials fear that the variant might be vaccine-resistant and the government is considering tightening travel restrictions for Israelis. The restrictions would ban travel to seven high-risk countries, including India, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, and Turkey, as well as mandate quarantine for even vaccinated travelers upon arriving back in Israel.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)