The number of confirmed Omicron infections in Israel has doubled this weekend between Friday and Saturday.
There were 1,775 new cases of the COVID-19 variant on Friday out of 99,032 people who were tested. That figure included 591 cases of Omicron, according to the Health Ministry – the highest number reported since October 12, when the ministry reported 1,816 cases of the coronavirus.
By Saturday there were 1,118 confirmed cases of Omicron alone – double the number of those the day before and triple the 341 reported for Tuesday. Moreover, the Health Ministry said Saturday there were another 861 cases of coronavirus that were also “highly suspected” to be Omicron infections.
An outbreak of the virus was reported last week in the Jerusalem suburb of Ma’ale Adumim, and this weekend, 20 residents and five staffers in a senior citizens’ residence in Savyon were also diagnosed with COVID-19 amidst suspicions the infection was due to Omicron.
Fifth Wave Could Peak in 2 Weeks at 10K Daily Cases
Top adviser to the Coronavirus Cabinet Professor Eran Segal told Israel’s Channel 12 News on Saturday that Israel could see as many as “thousands” of Omicron cases this coming week.
“It’s possible we’ll reach a peak in two weeks of about 10,000 new cases a day,” said Segal, a computational biologist at Weizmann Institute of Science. “The risk for every one of us to contract the disease is the highest since the start of the pandemic,” he told the news outlet.
However, he added, Omicron is nevertheless less severe than the Delta variant. “We see it in Scotland, in England and in South Africa,” he said, adding that the most effective method of fighting the virus is the vaccine. “This is what will reduce morbidity and the number of people in serious condition,” he said.
New COVID-19 Restrictions for Malls, Other Venues
The rise in cases of the virus comes as members of the ministerial committee on fighting COVID-19 (the Coronavirus Cabinet) voted on Friday afternoon by telephone to approve a plan for activity in malls and commercial venues that was proposed by the National Security Council.
That vote followed one just a day earlier approving a plan to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the country’s school system.
Ministers decided Friday on the following restrictions:
- Malls will operate in accordance with the Purple Badge, according to the occupancy rate of 15:1 (one person per 15 square meters)
- Entry to malls that are bigger than 100 square meters will be subject to the Green Pass, in both open facilities and in malls and enclosed facilities. Employees of such stores will also be subject to the Green Pass.
- Food stalls in malls will provide take-away service only to customers upon presentation of a Green Pass. There will be no seating.
- Entry to restaurants inside malls will be subject to presentation of a Green Pass as is currently done in restaurants.
- The Green Pass in malls and commercial facilities will not apply to places that provide essential services as follows: Stores that sell hygiene products, opticians, stores that sell medical assistance devices, minimarkets, groceries and supermarkets. Such places will continue on their current formats (Purple Badge according to a 1:7 occupancy rate).
The regulations are set to take effect at midnight between Sunday, December 26 and Monday, December 27, 2021, subject to the approval of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee in a vote expected to take place Sunday.
It is likely that both plans will be approved.
COVID-19 Restrictions in Schools Also Likely to Be Approved
Along with the restrictions set for commercial venues, the change in format for activity in the education system is likely to be approved.
Those changes are as follows:
- In orange and red communities, frontal learning will not be held in grades7-12 in classes in which less than 70% of pupils have been vaccinated except in an open area or in online learning.
- In grades 1-6 in red communities, there will be a policy of reducing contacts (while giving preference to frontal learning) unless 70% of pupils in the class have been vaccinated.
- Pupils will be considered to have been vaccinated even if they have only received the first inoculation; this will apply for 30 days after receiving the first inoculation (in effect until 9 January 2022).
The regulations in the school system are set to take effect on Monday, December 27, 2021, subject to the approval of the Knesset Education Committee.