The highly-contagious Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread across Israel with 67,580 news cases reported by the Health Ministry on Tuesday morning. Altogether, 256,270 Israelis were screened for the virus in the past 24 hours, which puts the infection rate at 26.37%.
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There are 425,008 active cases in the country with 2,788 patients hospitalized. Of those, 1,084 are in serious condition – 306 are critically ill, 247 are on ventilators and 19 are connected to ECMO machines. Currently, 97,876 Israelis are in self-isolation.
Israel has reported 2,928,380 coronavirus cases, including 8,804 cases since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020.
Thus far, 642,137 Israelis have been vaccinated with the fourth dose, 4,442,029 with the third, 6,093,060 with the second, and 6,691,151 have received one shot.
The Health Ministry also reported that seven children have developed the pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome (PIMS) after contracting COVID in the current Omicron infection wave. Another nine children are on ventilators after contracting and recovering from the disease.
According to the report, the children were hospitalized for a variety of different reasons and tested positive for the coronavirus in the hospital.
"It takes time from the moment of infection until we see syndromes like PIMS," Coronavirus Commissioner Salman Zarka said. "Unfortunately, we have begun to come across such cases in Israel. There are approximately 10 such cases now. Seven for sure, and another three are suspected. We also see global [PIMS] morbidity.
"I would like to point out to the parents that there are no such cases after vaccination. Most [PIMS cases] occur after a light disease that was never identified, when the child is brought to the hospital with fever and difficulty breathing. Hospitals have pediatric wards. As part of the preparation for a possible increase in hospitalizations, seven medical centers have been asked to prepare additional wards, which will create another 300 beds, but we hope we won't need to use them."
In most cases, PIMS patients have no preexisting conditions. The syndrome inflames the heart, lungs, eyes, and digestive system, with patients developing a fever, stomach ache, vomiting, diarrhea, and rash.
PIMS cases have already been reported in the United States, India, Germany, and South Africa. Nevertheless, the syndrome is rare, affecting one child in 200 COVID patients.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters on Monday, Zarka also addressed the growing concern over the Omicron subvariant that is said to be even more transmissible than its original mutation.
"There are 350 such cases in Israel at the moment," he said. "We have seen that in several European countries, such as Denmark, it caused another infection wave or extended the morbidity wave. We are in an unprecedented infection wave that is not over yet. We hoped we had passed the peak, but unfortunately yesterday [Sunday] there was another rise with around 74,000 cases, which shows that we are not at a stable stage yet."
Calling on Israelis to get vaccinated, Zarka said, "The best way to protect ourselves is to get vaccinated. Whoever has received a shot within the last three months is better protected from developing a serious disease. Almost 650,000 Israelis have already received the fourth shot and increased the protection over their health. We have not come across new side effects."
Zarka also addressed the government's new testing and quarantine guidelines for school children.
"It is a balanced outline. Every child needs to get tested twice a week. This will potentially help us identify morbidity that we wouldn't have been able to otherwise. The economy is open, as is the education system, which helps us all continue to live normal lives alongside the coronavirus. To succeed in this, we need to show responsibility for ourselves and one another. It is up to the parents to test their children and not send them to school if they, God forbid, test positive or exhibit symptoms. We are glad to have the opportunity to lead almost normal lives during COVID. It is an accomplishment."
Meanwhile, the Finance Committee has approved a 1.16 billion shekel ($365 million) budget this week for the Health Ministry to tackle the coronavirus pandemic in general and the Omicron strain in particular.
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