The Health Ministry reported Friday morning that of the 105,198 Israelis it screened for the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, 838 tested positive. The infection rate stands at 0.89%. There are currently 6,542 active cases in the country with 125 patients hospitalized. Of those, 79 are in serious condition. 

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Israel has reported 1,353,689 cases, including 8,230 deaths, since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. 

Thus far, 4,147,339 Israelis have been fully vaccinated, 5,815,500 received two doses, and 6,438,561 got one jab. 

Meanwhile, an infection outbreak was reported in Jerusalem's Evelyn de Rothschild girls' school, where 62 students tested positive for the coronavirus. The school has been temporarily shut down and students switched to online learning. 

Some reports suggested that the outbreak was caused by an Israeli family returning from South Africa – where Omicron was first detected – who violated mandatory self-isolation. 

The IDF Home Front Command said that the family was supposed to quarantine for seven days upon arrival after their coronavirus tests at Ben-Gurion International Airport came back negative. Nevertheless, the children were sent to school. On the fifth day of the self-isolation, the family tested positive for Omicron, yet the kids continued to attend studies anyway. The family was also visited by the grandmother, who works at an educational institution, and who later tested positive for the new strain as well. The father of the family attended synagogue. 

Thus far, looking into the transmission chain, the Home Front Command reported seven verified Omicron cases, with 16 more Omicron cases suspected.

The Jerusalem Municipality said that "as far as is known" the outbreak at the Evelyn de Rothschild school "is not Omicron. Following the outbreak and based on the district doctor's advice, the school switched to learning from home. On Saturday evening, there will be another assessment of the situation, at the end of which we will issue instructions with regard to next week."

In related news, the new mandatory self-isolation guidelines for Israelis returning from abroad came into effect on Friday morning. 

Unvaccinated Israelis returning from a country on the government's no-fly list – so-called "red" countries – will be required to take a coronavirus test at Ben-Gurion Airport and self-isolate at a state-run hotel. After signing an agreement promising to self-isolate they will receive their test results, and if negative, will be able to quarantine for the remaining seven days at home. If positive, they will be required to quarantine at the state-run hotel for the entire week. Another coronavirus test will be required at the end of the isolation period. 

Vaccinated Israelis and those who recovered from COVID will be able to self-isolate at home for seven adys immediately after taking a test at Ben-Gurion Airport and signing the agreement. Another coronavirus test will be required at the end of the isolation period.

Vaccinated Israelis and recovered COVID patients who return from "orange" countries will also be required to perform a test upon arrival, self-isolate for three days, take another PCR test at the end of the period, and exit quarantine if it comes back negative. 

The Health Ministry said last week that it will update the no-fly list every 24 hours or so depending on the coronavirus morbidity in other countries. Currently, there are 51 "red" countries and 163 "orange" countries. 

Before returning to Israel, travelers will also need to take a PCR at a recognized facility 72 hours before their flight or an antigen test 24 hours before departure. Every passenger is required to fill out a form 24 hours before returning to Israel. Israelis who recovered from COVID in the last three months or those who spend less than 72 hours abroad are not required to present coronavirus test results. 

Foreigners will not be allowed to enter Israel at least until Dec. 29, except for a few exceptions approved by the Population and Immigration Authority. 

Public transportation is available to Ben-Gurion Airport, but leaving the site is only possible via private vehicles and taxis.

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In the meantime, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported on Thursday that it detected three cases of Omicron in the West Bank.

Kamal al-Shakhrah, a spokesperson for the ministry, explained all of the cases were discovered in people returning to the West Bank after traveling abroad.

The Omicron patients are residents of Ramallah, Hebron, and Tubas, according to Middle East Eye.

Data published by the ministry on Thursday showed that less than 140,000 Palestinians are fully vaccinated with a booster shot.

The Palestinian territories face an average of 322 daily COVID infections, according to statistics from Reuters, and 4,858 COVID-related deaths occurred in the region since the beginning of the pandemic.

i24NEWS contributed to this report. 

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Lawmakers criticized Prime Minister Naftali Bennett Wednesday after announcement that his wife and children were going on vacation overseas, despite the premier's recent calls on Israelis to refrain from necessary travel abroad.

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The family's original destination was the island of Mauritius, which has since been added to the government's no-fly list along with 49 other African countries, prompting them to change their vacation plans.

"After the decision of the coronavirus cabinet to leave the skies open, the destination of the vacation changed in accordance with the updated guidelines. The Bennett family will, of course, follow all the guidelines and rules that apply to Israeli citizens," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement but did not specify to where exactly the family would be traveling.

During a press conference on Friday, Bennett urged Israelis not to travel abroad due to the new Omicron coronavirus variant.

"If someone asked me, at the moment I wouldn't recommend flying abroad amid a level of uncertainty like this," he said. "That's the truth."

In a Twitter post, Likud MK Israel Katz called the move "a political lie turned normal."

Bennett responded in a Facebook post on Wednesday evening, saying, "The Bennett family is subject to the same rules that apply to all Israeli citizens. I understand the criticism, however, we have learned more about the variant since Friday."

Also on Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first Omicron case in the United States.

"This is the first confirmed case of COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant detected in the United States," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the president's chief medical adviser, told reporters at a White House briefing. "As all of you know, of course, we've been discussing this, we knew that it was just a matter of time."

According to Fauci, the infected person returned from South Africa nine days earlier and tested positive for COVID on Monday.

The traveler was vaccinated with two vaccine doses and was experiencing "mild symptoms that are improving," the CDC said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus infection rate remained low in Israel and currently stands at 0.58%, according to Health Ministry data published on Thursday morning. Of the 98,172 Israelis screened in the past 24 hours, 526 tested positive.

There are 5,584 active cases in the country with 151 patients hospitalized. Of those, 116 are in serious condition.
Israel has reported 1,344,472 cases since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, including 8,199 deaths.

Thus far, 4,086,805 Israelis over the age of 16 have gotten fully vaccinated, 5,778,068 received the second jab and 6,345,114 got their first doses.

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However, while the coronavirus seems to be under control in Israel, South Africa, where Omicron was first detected, reports a much different situation.

Preliminary data from health officials showed that the number of new cases almost doubled every day in the last few days. Although it is not yet clear whether the new strain is responsible for the alarming increase, experts estimate that two-thirds of new cases are indeed Omicron.

Another troubling development is the increase in infection rate among children. According to data from the South African Health Ministry, 10% of hospitalized are children under the age of two, a number much higher compared to other parts of the world.

"Young children appear to be at a greater risk due to the new variant," a South African Health Ministry official said. Until now, the majority of those hospitalized were adults. But during the [morbidity] outbreak in Tswana, we see that the largest age group are children under the age of two.

Tswana, near Johanessburg, has turned into a hot stop of Omicron infections seemingly due to a low number of vaccinated residents.

i24NEWS contributed to this report. 

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Israel's coronavirus infection rate stands at 3.81%, according to Health Ministry data published Friday. Of the 120,967 people who tested for the virus Thursday, 4,313 were found to have the disease.

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This week, an average of 3,889 daily infections were recorded as opposed to the average of 7,861 in the first week of September.

There are 46,647 active cases of the virus. There are 607 people in serious condition, 214 of whom are on ventilators. The number of serious cases is now the lowest seen since Aug. 21.

Although 1,229,494 Israelis have recovered from the virus since the outbreak of the pandemic, 7,761 have died.

Over 6 million Israelis – 6,119,945 – have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 5,641,166 have received two doses. Over 3.4 million have received all three available doses of the vaccine. With Israelis set to require three vaccine doses to be eligible for the green pass starting Sunday, a record 78,000 received their third jab Thursday.

In an interview with 103FM Radio Friday, Ash said: "I don't believe we're managing the coronavirus [pandemic] conservatively. How can that be said after we made such far-reaching decisions as a booster shot?"

As for restrictions aimed at reining in infections, Ash said, "I'm not sure we need additional restrictions. We are experiencing a good downward trend. We consider things matter-of-factly each time. I don't have an instinct to propose restrictions at each meeting."

He said: "My sense is that we are on track to existing this wave. If I had to guess, there won't be a fifth wave. It depends on us getting vaccinated. The current wave broke out because we had a fairly large population that wasn't vaccinated. It also depends on whether the vaccine will be effective for longer."

He noted there would be as much enforcement of restriction. "People need to make the decision not to enter an event where they don't test [for coronavirus] because there is a higher risk [of infection] there."

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash, coronavirus chief Salman Zarka, and head of Public Health Services at the Health Ministry Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis to smooth things over following senior ministry officials' criticism of his remarks at the UN General Assembly earlier this week. In his address, Bennett said that while he respects the experts, he opposes the kinds of sweeping restrictions recommended by the ministry, the premier met with senior ministry officials Thursday. In a joint statement following their meeting, officials relayed a message of reconciliation and cooperation.

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The IDF Military Intelligence Directorate warned this week that the opening of the school year was bound to lead to an increase in the coronavirus infection rate.

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"There is a reasonable possibility that despite the extensive third vaccine campaign, the increase in the number of verified cases will continue to increase," it said, "which would, in turn, lead to a rise in serious cases, further burdening the healthcare system."

The task force called on the government to reassess its plans for the 2021-2022 school year based on the coronavirus situation throughout September and prepare to decrease educational activities significantly.

They further stressed that while an "artificial" increase might soon occur in the number of daily cases – due to the mass testing by parents of their children ahead of the school year – a more accurate reflection of the effects of the school year on morbidity will be known in several more weeks.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry reported that 526 Israelis succumbed to the coronavirus in August 2021 alone. Altogether since the outbreak of the pandemic, 7,043 Israelis have died of COVID.

Of the 145,868 Israelis the ministry screened for the virus on Tuesday, 10,947 (7.65%) tested positive. There are 83,542 active cases in the country, with 1,122 Israelis hospitalized. Of those, 217 are in critical condition and 172 on ventilators.

Israel has reported 1,066,352 cases since the epidemic began. Thus far, 5,974,921 Israelis have been partially vaccinated, 5,482,062 have received both doses, and 2,157,299 got their third jabs.

Meanwhile, the school year – which began on Wednesday – did not get off to a good start. On the first day of studies, a teacher at Shamir Elementary School in Holon tested positive for the coronavirus.

At 10 a.m., the school contacted the parents, asking them to pick up their children and self-isolate for 10 days. They will be joining the 55,390 students already in quarantine.

Based on reports, the teacher took a COVID test two days before the opening of the school year, and when he did not receive his results, he took a rapid COVID test that came back positive.

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After showing signs of abating, the Delta variant wave seems to be on the rise in Israel again. The Health Ministry reported Tuesday that of the 145,868 Israelis it screened for the virus the day before, 10,947 (7.65%) tested positive, compared to the weekend, when an average of 8,000 Israelis were found to carry the virus.

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There are 83,542 active cases in the country, with 1,122 Israelis hospitalized. Of those, 217 are in critical condition and 172 are on ventilators. according to the Health Ministry.

Israel has reported 1,066,352 cases since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. Thus far, 7,043 Israelis have lost their lives to the virus, 526 of them in August alone.

Meanwhile, the Coronavirus cabinet approved new restrictions on Monday, including limiting the number of worshipers for Selichot prayers at the Western Wall to 8,000 participants.

The prayers, which have already begun at the Western Wall Plaza, are chanted nightly during the Hebrew month of Elul leading up to the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

The cabinet also decided to divide worshipers into 18 sections with the obligation to wear a mask outdoors.

The "green pass" vaccination certificate was expanded to include health, education and welfare employees with possible expansion to other areas of the workforce to be considered at a later date.

Meanwhile, with the new school year set to begin on September 1, classes with less than 70% of partially vaccinated students will be required to study online. By September 30, at least 70% or more of students must be fully inoculated to attend school physically. The vaccine decision applies to eighth to twelfth graders in "red cities" with high infection rates.

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In further attempts to quell the Delta wave, the government was also considering offering financial incentives to national health funds for encouraging vaccinations.

Within the framework of the plan, the Health Ministry intends to transfer as much as NIS 24 million ׂ(around $7.5 million) to health funds based on the number of Israelis they inoculate, the number of their vaccination centers, and efforts dedicated to bringing more people to get vaccinated.

Efforts are currently being aimed at Israelis over the age of 60. Since Israel launched its booster shot campaign, 2,157,299 have already received their third jab.

i24NEWS contributed to this report.

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Health experts were cautiously optimistic on Friday that the latest COVID wave, propelled by the highly contagious Delta variant, showed signs of receding.

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The Health Ministry reported Friday morning that of the 133,423 Israelis screened for COVID on Thursday, 8,078 (6.71%) tested positive, in contrast to just a few days ago, when almost 10,000 Israelis tested positive for the virus.

On Friday, there were 76,323 active or symptomatic cases in the country, and 1,086 Israelis were hospitalized. The hospitalized included 191 in critical condition and 149 who were on ventilators.

Since the pandemic hit Israel early last ear, Israel has identified 1,031,810 confirmed cases, and its death toll stood at 6,943 on Friday.

Meanwhile, the start of the school year, scheduled for Sept. 1, continued to be clouded by the resurgence of the coronavirus. On Sunday, the Coronavirus Cabinet said that the school year would begin on Sept. 1, as scheduled, however, it is expected to convene again on Sunday – after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett returns from Washington – to discuss the controversial decision.

"We will reassess the opening of the school year in the next few days," Head of the Public Health Services Headquarters at the ministry Ilana Gens said. "We will try our utmost to go ahead with the opening as planned."

Optimism was also expressed by experts from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who advise the government on COVID, who published an analysis this week – based on COVID data gathered up until Aug. 28 – saying that while some disruptions to the beginning of the school year could be expected, the wave was unlikely to spike again.

Researchers said that the booster shot campaign had already brought down the number of seriously ill patents, and estimated that the infection rate would continue to decline.

Assuming all COVID restrictions remain in place and Israelis continue to get vaccinated, experts estimate the reproduction rate – which relates to the number of people each confirmed carrier infects – will go down to 0.85 by Rosh Hashanah, which starts on Monday, Sept. 6. A reproduction rate under 1 means an outbreak is subsiding.

"The current infection wave has been reined in thanks to the booster campaign and mild restrictions," they noted.

Since the launch of the booster campaign, 1,860,227 Israelis have received a third COVID jab.

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The highly contagious delta variant continues to spread across Israel. Of the 74,186 Israelis that were screened for the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, 1,372 (1.86%) tested positive. There are currently 7,924 active cases in the country, with 126 patients hospitalized, of whom 62 are in serious condition.

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The Health Ministry said on Tuesday that of those hospitalized, 64.5% are fully immunized, as are 67.7% of seriously ill patients. It also said that of all the Israelis that returned to the country from abroad in the last 10 days, 154 tested positive for COVID. Of those, 96 returnees were vaccinated and eight had recovered from the disease. Three of them returned from countries on the government's no-fly list, one from Uzbekistan and two from Russia.

The ministry has labeled one Israeli city as "red" over COVID morbidity. Ten localities are "orange" and 50 have been ranked "yellow" on the ministry's "stoplight" system. Each designation carries different restrictions on public life, particularly public gatherings in closed spaces.

Israel has reported 839,103 cases, including 6,451 deaths, since the outbreak of the pandemic last year.

Also on Tuesday, Health Ministry Director-General Professor Nachman Ash said at a press conference that the ministry was closely monitoring the situation. He warned that the ministry's no-fly list could change at any moment, and countries that are not currently "red" can be designated as such at any moment, requiring returnees to self-isolate. He also called on Israelis not to travel abroad unless necessary.

Ash also said that the ministry would recommend the government to reinstate the so-called "green pass" at every kind of gathering with more than 100 people. The "green pass" system differentiates between vaccinated and unvaccinated Israelis in terms of access to certain venues and activities. The Coronavirus Cabinet is set to discuss the ministry's recommendations on Thursday.

In the meantime, the Military Intelligence Directorate reported on Tuesday that the number of unvaccinated Israelis who got infected with COVID was 1.5 times higher than those fully immunized.

According to data, from the start of the current wave of infections, of those fully immunized 0.12% got infected; of those unvaccinated 0.18%; and of those who recovered from COVID, only 0.01% got reinfected.

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Coronavirus chief Nachman Ash noted 227 cases of the coronavirus were confirmed, Thursday, in an interview with the Kan public broadcaster. He said the infection rate had increased to 0.6% and that he was concerned by the spread of the virus in different cities across the country.

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The last time Israel confirmed over 200 cases in a single day was in April.

In response to the uptick in infections, the Health Ministry reinstated the requirement to wear masks indoors. The mandate was set to go into effect beginning 12:00 p.m., Friday.

The Health Ministry has also recommended people wear masks in large outdoor gatherings and that unvaccinated or high-risk individuals do not take part in mass events.

At a press conference, Friday, Ash said: "The outbreak that was centered in Binyamina and Modiin is spreading to additional places like Kfar Saba and Ramle, Herzliya, and other cities. Our goal is to get control and bring morbidity down to a minimum by cutting off the chain of infection. We are prepared to carry out widespread testing, and I call on those who need to come and get tested."

He said, "It's important that those who were in contact with a verified coronavirus, even if they've been vaccinated, go and get tested because the vaccinated can become infected and infect others."

As for the issue of mandatory quarantine, Ash said: "Maintaining quarantine is our Achilles' heel, and because we don't make a point of it, dangerous variants enter the country and the spread [of the virus] continues."

"A child who was overseas and comes to school – that's not OK and the parents need to be told as much," he said.

On Thursday, the Health Ministry announced water samples taken recently from sewage water in the southern city of Ashkelon were found to contain the coronavirus variant originally detected in India, also known as the Delta variant, raising concerns residents have been infected with the virus.

The ministry requested anyone experiencing symptoms such as fever, cough, difficulty breathing, or fatigue or who suspects they may have contracted the virus be tested for COVID-19 to prevent an outbreak in the city.

It emphasized: "There are various outbreak centers, where there are confirmed cases, while in Ashkelon, the number of confirmed cases is low in relation to the findings in the sewage. As a result, we ask the public to adhere to guidelines and go and get tested" to prevent further outbreaks.

On Wednesday, Israel reinstated the coronavirus cabinet as the country confirmed 169 new cases of the virus, a record high not seen since April. On that day, 24,373 tests were carried out for an infection rate of 0.7%.

The government said a plan to stop the variant originally detected in India would be released to the public in the coming days.

Also on Wednesday, the IDF Homefront Command said it would set up seven COVID screening centers at outbreak hotspots. Likewise, there are plans to increase the number of sample collection centers to 30 nationwide.

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Just 10 days after being sworn into office, the coalition is under attack by former government members over its handling of the coronavirus.

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Former Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kisch of the Likud party blasted the new government as "impotent," saying it wasn't doing anything to tackle the renewed outbreak of the virus in an interview with the Kan public broadcaster, Thursday morning.

Israel's infection rate stood at 0.3%, Thursday morning after 138 new cases of the coronavirus were identified Wednesday. There are 680 active cases, 26 of which are serious. Of those in serious condition, 18 are on ventilators.

While 833,094 Israelis have recovered from the virus since the outbreak of the pandemic, 6,429 have died.

Noting he was "very concerned," Kisch told the Kan broadcaster: "They need to stop taking photos and decide."

"For every day that you don't do something, you pay a price. When we in the government heard about the British variant, we brought planes back that were in the air," he said.

"We will do the maximum to bring down this bad coalition," Kisch said.

On Wednesday, the coalition government reinstated the coronavirus cabinet and said plans to tackle the recent outbreak would soon be announced.

Following localized outbreaks in Binyamina and Modiin, 39 students at several schools in the Tel Aviv-suburb of Kfar Saba were found to be carrying the coronavirus, Wednesday.

Hundreds of students in the city entered quarantine as the Kfar Saba Municipality reinstated mask-wearing requirements in the city's schools in an effort to prevent further infections.

Eighteen infections were also reported among students in the nearby town of Kochav Yair-Tzur Yigal. There are currently 81 residents in quarantine. Local authorities have ordered all students in the community from first grade through fifth grade to wear masks while in school.

In a statement, Kfar Saba Mayor Rafi Saar said: "Last night, we ordered the city's education system to return to mask-wearing, both in class and at graduation parties. This order is necessary given the increase in the number of verified patients and is necessary to block the virus. From the very beginning of [our efforts] to contend with the coronavirus, we took steps that kept Kfar Saba a "green" city [in accordance with the Health Ministry's traffic-light system for ranking localities according to infection rates], and we will continue to do that now. Kfar Saba managed the coronavirus in a conservative and aggressive way that proved itself and now too, we will continue to manage the situation responsibly."

Health Ministry Director-General Hezi Levy, coronavirus chief Nachman Ash, and the head of Public Health Services at the Health Ministry Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis were set to hold a press conference on the uptick in infections over the last 24 hours, Thursday night.

'Public safety takes precedence over prayers'

While no order has yet been issued on mandatory mask-wearing in Binyamina and Modiin, synagogues across the country are grappling with concerns worshippers may be spreading the virus during prayers.

In the absence of any clear government guidelines, the World Organization of Orthodox Communities and Synagogues recommended congregants wear face masks.

"We call on synagogues and community heads to recommend worshippers go back to wearing masks during prayers following the increase in morbidity and the recommendation by professionals to wear masks in closed spaces," the organization said.

At the Great Synagogue of Jerusalem, which serves as a magnet for tourists from both Israel and overseas, officials have decided not to take any chances. "We made the decision to bring back masks starting this Saturday," the synagogue's acting director-general Zalman Jaffe said.

"We were the first to close the synagogue in the first wave [of the coronavirus outbreak], although there was an uproar, and we were forced to explain ourselves to every radio and TV station in the world, including Al Jazeera, but it was the right decision. We aren't waiting for guidelines, but rather taking the initiative out of the understanding public safety takes precedence over prayers. Right now, we aren't thinking about closing the synagogue, although there are undoubtedly concerns about that," he said.

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According to Health Ministry data, 470 of the 45,007 Israelis that tested for COVID-19, Wednesday, were found to be carrying the coronavirus, for an infection rate of 1.1%.

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Israel's reproduction rate has decreased 50% over the last month and now stands at 0.55, according to the data released Thursday.

There are currently 12,906 cases of the virus. There are 740 people hospitalized with the virus, 482 of whom are in serious condition. Of those in serious condition, 189 are on ventilators.

According to the Health Ministry, 75% of those hospitalized with COVID-19 are unvaccinated.

Twenty-one of those hospitalized are children, five of whom are in serious condition. There are also 16 pregnant women hospitalized, nine of whom are in serious condition.

Although 811,452 Israelis have recovered from the virus, 6,157 have died.

Over half of Israel's population has been fully inoculated against the coronavirus. So far, 5,203,664 people or nearly 56% of Israel's population have received at least one dose of the vaccine. A little over 50%, 4,655,955, have received both doses.

Health Minister Yuli Edelstein hailed the achievement. He said it was thanks to those that had received the vaccine that Israel was defeating the coronavirus. "All that's left is to just adhere to the guidelines so that the coronavirus doesn't return," he said.

With infections on the decline and Israelis set to mark numerous holidays in the coming weeks, the Health Ministry on Wednesday published updated coronavirus guidelines that will see up to 20 people allowed to gather indoors and 50 people outdoors for holiday meals and prayers, or in accordance with green pass guidelines for larger events.

Cemeteries will be open on Memorial Day. While there will be no limits on the number of people allowed to visit, only immediate relatives of the deceased will be allowed entry.

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