With a month of delay on Europe, the “citadel” Israel sees in its turn surge the Omicron variant and loose ballast. Since the end of December, the number of contaminations recorded each day has risen from less than 2,000 to more than 17,000 cases. Faced with this wave which could contaminate between 2 million and 4 million Israelis (out of 9.3 million in total), according to the Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, the country is relaxing a series of restrictions deemed needlessly crippling. On Sunday January 9, it reopened its borders.
The country no longer has an advantage to shut itself up, has estimated for several weeks the scientific council which assists the government. Ben-Gurion International Airport is once again admitting tourists from countries classified in December on a red list, including France and the United States. Travelers who have been vaccinated and who are not part of a risk group are only subjected to an antigen test and a maximum of twenty-four hours of isolation.
This month “in advance” allowed the State to replenish its stocks of vaccines, to obtain a treatment from the Pfizer laboratory recently approved for people at risk (Paxlovid), and to assess the damage that the variant causes to. abroad. For now, he is reassured by noting that the number of serious cases remains limited: there are 203, of which 60% are not up to date with their vaccines, according to Kan state radio, and 52 on a ventilator. For Nadav Davidovitch, director of the school of public health at Ben-Gurion University, and member of the scientific council, this number could however exceed, in a few weeks, the capacities of hospitals, which have 3,000 intensive care beds.
Relaxed quarantine rules
Choosing its battles, the government relies on what it knows and knows how to do: vaccinate. For the rest, it is trying to prevent a breakdown in testing capacities and is relaxing its quarantine rules, in order to avoid paralyzing the country. “The rule that should guide us is that the vaccine protects you from serious illness and quarantine. Anyone who is fully vaccinated is protected against the need to self-isolate ” : this is the course set, from January 3, by Naftali Bennett.
Since January 6, PCR tests have been given priority to unvaccinated people, over 60s and to risk categories. Even if it means provoking criticism of a “preferential” treatment granted to the unvaccinated. In the event of contact with an infected person, others are encouraged to use antigenic tests at home – more and more expensive and less effective.
You have 58.32% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
