With two confirmed cases of the omicron variant and another dozen under suspicion, Israel is preparing to block all foreign travelers from Monday to contain the spread of this new form of the coronavirus. In addition to shutting out tourism and business travel for non-residents for at least two weeks, Israelis will have to undergo a mandatory three to seven day quarantine upon their return to the country, depending on whether they are vaccinated. or not, as well as PCR tests at the beginning and end of the isolation period.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Sunday that the temporary restrictive measure seeks to “keep Israel protected (from an external threat) but open within (…) to follow daily life in the most normal way possible. ”. The general director of Health, the doctor specializing in public health Nachman Ash, described the omicron variant “as the most worrying known to date”, according to the alert launched by the World Health Organization.
“This is not a hysterical reaction, it is important to adopt measures to contain their entry into Israel,” Ash said in statements to the radio. The head of the Ministry of Health considers it foreseeable that the available vaccines serve to prevent serious cases caused by the new variant, although he has warned that its effectiveness cannot be confirmed for two weeks.
The first case of the omicron variant was detected in Israel on Thursday in a traveler recently arrived from Malawi. A dozen people suspected of being infected are being investigated. The new restrictive measures coincide with the beginning of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah or of Lights, in which family gatherings, religious events and mass holidays take place for a week.
Israel had reopened its doors to foreign visitors vaccinated with the full schedule on November 1, after 20 months of almost total border closure since the start of the pandemic. Bennett already announced on Friday the veto of entry to the country to foreigners from fifty African countries (all of the continent, except those of the north). Israelis from these “red” countries, so designated for their high rate of contagion, must be admitted to a hotel supervised by the authorities, until receiving a negative result of diagnostic tests, before undergoing a one-week quarantine in their addresses.
The inter-ministerial cabinet for the pandemic approved the latest restrictions on Saturday night, which this Sunday have been submitted for ratification by the full Government. The Executive has also asked the Knesset (Parliament) to authorize the Shin Bet (internal secret service) to track the mobile phones of people infected with the new variant. Israel already resorted to telephone surveillance and spying technology early in the pandemic, until the Supreme Court vetoed the measure for lacking the backing of the legislature. The Shin Bet tracking of those infected with the new form of coronavirus will continue until December 2.
For its part, the Moroccan Government announced this Sunday afternoon a similar measure: the suspension from Monday of all direct flights to the country for the next two weeks. The objective is “to preserve the achievements made by Morocco” in its fight against the pandemic, after the appearance in Europe and Africa of the omicron variant, says the Moroccan Executive. Two days earlier, Morocco had already prohibited access to the country to South African nationals and passengers who have transited through that country. And in the same week it had suspended air and maritime connections with France, due to the rapid spread of the covid in France, reports Francisco Peregil.
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