Israel Closes Borders Due to Omicron Variant

The Israeli government committee for combating COVID-19 has approved the closure of the country's borders to all foreign nationals for 14 days due to an outbreak of the new Omicron variant. This was stated in a press release published on the website of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's office.

The decisions will take effect on November 28, 2021, and will be in place for 14 days. Entry to Israel will be prohibited for all foreign citizens, with exceptions made only for cases approved by a special committee.

Unvaccinated individuals will need to self-isolate for seven days, provided that the result of their second test is negative.

The World Health Organization has raised concerns about a new subvariant of the coronavirus, named Omicron (B.1.1.529), classifying it as a variant of concern. The new strain features approximately 50 mutations, with 30 located in the spike protein, and was first identified in the Republic of South Africa.

According to the World Health Organization, current vaccines may be less effective against this new strain. The organization has also reported that this variant spreads more rapidly than its predecessors, as evidenced by experience in South Africa. Consequently, the new strain may infect a greater number of people, including those who have recovered from other variants. The WHO has called on all countries to pay increased attention to the study of this new coronavirus variant.