COVID: Entrance of vaccinated to Israel postponed again amid outbreak

Vaccinated tourists will not be allowed to enter Israel on August 1, as previously decided, Health Ministry’s Director General Prof. Nachman Ash said in a press briefing on Sunday.“We are postponing the date for the entrance of tourists, it is not going to happen on August 1,” Ash noted, adding that a new date is not set yet.“Unfortunately, the current situation does not permit us to allow tourists to enter,” he added.The director general also warned Israelis that with the Delta variant raging in the world, this is not a time to fly abroad. He said that the authorities are examining how to restrict traveling, either by expanding the list of countries under travel ban or severe travel warning, or by other means.Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with relevant ministers and officials to work on stepping up the enforcement of coronavirus regulations, which since last week falls under the responsibility of the Public Security Ministry.

The authorities are working to ensure that the enforcement system will combine the use of technological means as well as of police officers and local inspectors.“Our goal is to establish sensible guidelines, alongside aggressive and effective enforcement against violators,” Bennett said. “Anyone who violates the guidelines endangers his health and the health of the rest of the citizens of Israel. We will not allow this. The Delta variant is soaring all over the world. Implementing regulations in the field is a critical element in fighting the pandemic to defeat the mutation.”It was decided that verified coronavirus carriers who breach isolation will be criminally charged.In addition, Bennett gave instruction to the ministry and the attorney general to regulate the legal aspect of employing technological tools to monitor those in quarantine, including allowing the police to verify the location of individuals in isolation through an SMS system.In addition, it was announced that priority in enforcement will be given to weddings and another events considered at high risk of spreading infections.Starting from Wednesday, access to indoor weddings and parties with over 100 participants, will be reserved only to individuals who are vaccinated, recovered or have a negative corona test, or holders of what the government has dubbed “Happy Badge.”Ash said that in the upcoming days, they will recommend the cabinet to bring back the full green pass system. Until the end of May, the green pass system was used for several venues and activities, including restaurants, synagogues and gyms.In addition, he remarked that they are preparing for the school year, and they hope that rapid testing will be an essential element of the outline to keep schools operating safely.Also on Sunday, the Health Ministry announced that participants in summer camps will be asked to show a green passport, a recovery certificate or a negative coronavirus test taken within the previous 72 hours. The requirement applies also to outdoor programs.Earlier in the day, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said that the possibility of another lockdown exists, but the government is not considering it as of now and the goal is to avoid it.“Of course it is possible that there will be another lockdown, but we are not discussing it now,” Horowitz said in an interview to Army Radio. “Everyone can understand that if there is a huge outbreak here, including in serious morbidity, we will get there. We are taking measures so that we are not going to need it.”Some 430 new virus carriers were identified on Saturday, with 1.47% of the 33,000 tests processed returning a positive result. The previous day the cases were 1,120 out of 76,000 tests – the highest since March.At the beginning of June, Israel was registering some 10-20 new cases a day. The new outbreak apparently started in some schools and quickly spread.While the increase in serious morbidity – which is considered the most important parameter to consider – has remained limited, the number of patients in serious condition is nonetheless on the rise. Some 63 patients were in serious conditions on Sunday morning. Four weeks ago, they were 19.
At the peak on the pandemic in January, there were some 1,200 patients in serious condition, a number that placed unprecedented strain on the country’s health system. Months before, experts were suggesting that Israeli hospitals could handle up to 700-800 serious patients without compromising the quality of the care.Ash said that the number of serious patients is expected to further increase.On Friday, Bennett said that the Pfizer is less effective against the Delta variant, which currently represents the vast majority of cases in Israel.“We do not know exactly to what degree the vaccine helps, but it is significantly less,” he noted.Israel is conduction research to understand what is causing the drop in efficacy, if the time elapsed since receiving the two shots is the central elements or other factors have a significant role, ash remarked.
Source