TEL AVIV: Israel began on Monday administering fourth Covid vaccine shots to people over 60 and health workers amid a surge driven by the omicron variant.
Health workers at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv lined up for the shot and over-60s received it at the nearby branch of Clalit, Israel’s largest health fund.
The shot was given to those who received their third inoculation at least four months ago.
The Health Ministry on Sunday approved the fourth shot for the over-60s and medical staff, two days after those with weakened immunity started to take the shot, making Israel one of the first countries to do so.
The Health Ministry on Monday reported 6,562 new COVID-19 infections over the previous day, nearly double the daily average of last week.
In an address late on Sunday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned that cases could soon surge to around “50,000 cases per day.”
More than 4 million people out of Israel’s population of 9.2 million have received three shots of coronavirus vaccine.
A total of almost 1.4 million cases of COVID-19 infection, including 8,244 deaths, have been officially recorded in Israel.
Also on Monday, the Health Ministry said it will admit foreigners with presumed COVID-19 immunity from countries deemed medium-risk as of Jan. 9, partially reversing a ban on entry by foreigners imposed in late November in response to the fast-spreading omicron variant.
FASTFACT
Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned that COVID-19 cases could soon surge to around ‘50,000 cases per day.’
The ministry said on Monday that travelers from 199 countries Israel has designated “orange” would have to prove in advance they are vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19 and would be subject to PCR testing before and after arrival.
They include Australia, Italy and Ireland.
The ministry has also recommended that South Africa, Nigeria, Spain, Portugal, France and Canada, currently among 16 countries listed as “red” or high COVID-19 risk, be changed to “orange.”
Bennett said in the televised address that Israel would this week begin loosening curbs on international travel even as omicron-fueled cases spiral.
The US, Britain, UAE, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Mexico, Switzerland and Turkey remain on Israel’s red list, the ministry said.
Visitors from those countries require advance special permission from an Israeli committee to enter the country. Israel banned most travel to and from red-listed countries — initially all in southern Africa — on Nov. 25 after the omicron variant was first detected.
