The Health Ministry on Thursday evening announced that 10 new cases of a new variant of the coronavirus, described by health officials as a "virulent" offshoot of the Delta variant, have been diagnosed in Israel.
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According to the ministry, eight of those infected with AY3 had been infected while traveling abroad, while two others were infected in Israel.
Delta plus variants have a mutation in the spike protein also found in the Beta and Gamma variants that may help to evade antibodies. A report by the Indian Council of Medical Research found that AY3 in particular is potentially better at escaping the immune system.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Delta variant is about twice as infectious as the original coronavirus strain and 60% more contagious than the Alpha variant.
Consequently, the immune system has less time to respond and therefore morbidity is more rapid, while on the other hand, we are detecting the disease quicker after being exposed, which could help sever the chain of infection if people follow safety guidelines.
The AY3 sublineage of the Delta variant accounts for approximately 15% of COVID-19 cases in the US and has been detected in at least 61 countries.
As of August 10, 17,792 sequences of the AY3 strain had been detected across the globe.
Of more concern is the Lambda variant, also known as C37, which is wreaking havoc in South America and has been identified in the US.
"If it reaches Israel, we will get to the lockdown that we so desperately want to avoid," Dr. Asher Salmon, director of the Health Ministry's Department of International Relations, told the Knesset's Law and Constitution Committee recently.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett urged Israelis to get vaccinated at a Tuesday press conference, saying that another lockdown would "destroy the future of the country."
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