Health officials were not presently considering closing Ben-Gurion Airport as a measure to fight the ongoing morbidity spike in the country, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said on Monday.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
Israel is scrambling to contain an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant by strengthening existing restrictions and imposing new measures, including at the border.
The Health Ministry said on Monday that 829 new COVID-19 infections had been detected over the previous 24 hours.
"We are not talking about closing down Ben-Gurion Airport," he said during a meeting with Economy Minister Orna Barbivai, Tourism Minister Yehiel Tropper, senior officials from the health and finance ministries, and representatives from the National Security Council.
"Our approach has been and remains to take steps to curb the spread with minimal damage to the economy and maintaining routine daily life," he said.
"Yes, it is likely that more countries will soon be added to the blacklist. There is no getting around this. Arrivals and departures from Israel will be closely monitored, but we will not close the airport, we are not talking about it," said Horowitz.
The meeting largely focused on restoring the Green Pass mandate. Horowitz, together with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, is expected to ask cabinet ministers later this week to approve the Green pass outline proposed by the Health Ministry last week.
A total of 66 patients were categorized as seriously ill as of Monday morning, with 18 listed in critical condition and 12 people on respirators.
The percentage of positive tests stood at 1.71% out of 49,373 tests for the virus administered on Sunday.
Health Ministry Director-General Prof Nachman Ash warned that continued travel abroad by Israelis is liable to lead to increased levels of coronavirus infection and noted that additional travel restrictions were being considered by the government.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Ash said: "This is not the time to travel abroad. The epidemic is raging in many countries overseas, and any non-essential travel is unadvisable and liable to lead to excessive levels of contagion. It can also lead to people bringing in new and possibly more dangerous mutations."
Ash called on Israelis to act responsibly. "We must not be complacent," he said. "We must follow the guidelines, including – and especially – the rule requiring us to wear face masks in enclosed spaces. We must be meticulous in adhering to quarantine rules and everyone has to go and get vaccinated."
Ash also stressed that enforcement of regulations will soon be bolstered, but that the Health Ministry is not presently seeking to impose additional regulations.
"Proper observance of quarantine rules has been shown to reduce contagion," he said. "The person who catches coronavirus from you could be your family member, your friend… it's a shame. Keep to the rules and you'll prevent the virus from spreading.
"Our aim is to enable us to start the new school year on time, after such a long time during which our children learned via Zoom or not at all. We want them to be able to learn in school," he said.
Ash also maintained that the vaccines were still effective, although he admitted that their efficacy has declined. "We are investigating this phenomenon, in order to find out whether this is simply something that happens over time, or because the Delta variant is more resistant," he said. "So far, we don't have the answer to that question."
Also Sunday, meanwhile, Israel walked back part of its policy for third coronavirus vaccination shots, saying that contrary to a recent announcement, oncology patients should actually stick with two jabs only.
Last Monday Israel began administering a third shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech inoculation to patients with compromised immune systems, including people who have had heart, lung and kidney transplants and some cancer patients.
But on Sunday, the Health Ministry said that after reviewing data on hundreds of patients from oncology wards, "the recommendation at this stage is to not vaccinate" cancer patients.
"Nearly 90% of the patients receiving chemotherapy developed antibodies following the [two doses of] vaccination, and the level of antibodies remained high a number of months after the vaccination," the ministry said in a "clarification" to the national health funds and hospitals administering the shots.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
"In addition, the vaccination could have side effects... that could affect the oncological treatment," the ministry said.
Among those who are newly eligible to receive a third dose of the COVID vaccine – with the approval of their physician – are heart, lung, kidney and liver transplant recipients; those with multiple sclerosis; and patients with rheumatological or autoimmune diseases, according to Dr. Emilia Anis, head of the Health Ministry's epidemiological unit.
The ministry also said it recommends that those eligible to receive a third dose conduct an antibody test before receiving the shot and another 14 days later "to assess the benefits."
