As alarm increases over the new strain of the coronavirus in the UK and other countries, Israel steps up efforts to thwart the new strain from spreading in Israel.

After the coronavirus cabinet approved banning non-Israelis from the UK, Denmark and South Africa from entering Israel and forcing Israelis from those countries arriving in Israel to quarantine in state-run hotels, the new measures were enforced immediately.

See below as 130 passengers arriving in Israel from London on Sunday, many of whom are Chareidi, were escorted by police to the Dan Panorama Hotel in Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu‏‏, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, and Coronavirus Czar Prof. Nachman Ash are calling for Ben-Gurion Airport to be closed to all international flights in light of the new risk posed by the virus mutation.

Netanyahu said that closing Israel’s skies is “an extreme step but a small price to pay if the vaccine isn’t effective on the virus mutation. There is no legal impediment to closing the skies except for Israelis returning from abroad.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)