Beginning Wednesday, Israelis who test positive for the coronavirus but are asymptomatic as well as those exposed to a confirmed carrier will need to quarantine for five days instead of the previous seven. 

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Confirmed carriers will need to take an at-home antigen test on the fourth and fifth day of their quarantine. Carriers can exit quarantine provided they test negative twice and are asymptomatic. Unvaccinated individuals exposed to a confirmed COVID carrier will be able to exit quarantine upon testing negative on the fifth day of their isolation period. 

In an interview with Army Radio on Wednesday morning, Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash said a record number of Israelis, 71,000, had been confirmed as infected with COVID-19 the previous day. He said 200,000 Israelis likely tested positive for the virus, as many had performed at-home antigen tests. 

According to Ash, there are 526 Israelis in serious condition. 

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is set to hold talks with senior Health Ministry officials to formulate a plan to end the current policy of week-long quarantines for unvaccinated students exposed to a confirmed coronavirus carrier following public pressure. Bennett is said to have been more open to the move after officials said they expect the reproduction rate to decline significantly over the next seven to 10 days.

Bennett has proposed Israeli students be continuously tested for the virus, as has been the policy in other locations around the world. Those found to be infected with COVID would enter quarantine, while all those who test negative, regardless of their vaccination status, will be allowed to remain at school.

Meanwhile, the Finance and Culture and Sports Ministries have agreed on an aid package to compensate actors, stage workers, independent artists, cultural institutions, and culture halls that have been out of work for the months of January and February. 

As part of the package,  the government will transfer 28 million shekels (around $9 million) to cultural institutions that continue to employ their workers as well as to pay independent contractors involved in any performance or event canceled due to the coronavirus. Another 10 million shekels (around $3 million) will go toward artists severely impacted by the decline in performances for schools and other places through the state's immediate acquisition of hundreds of such performances. 

Another 50 million shekels (around $16 million) will go to local authorities across the country to benefit cultural activities. 

The government will further increase funding of artists in distress to six million shekels (around $2 million) and will act to increase access to the funds for stage workers. 

In addition, the ministries committed to expanding Israeli Cinema Day activities once morbidity levels decline. 

In a statement, Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman said, "We are constantly acting to keep the market active and functioning, and alongside this, we are providing assistance to sectors that have been harmed. This is what we did for the tourism and aviation sectors, and this is what we are now doing to help the cultural sector."

Culture and Sports Minister Chili Tropper said, "We are committed to the world of culture, and we will continue to stand with it as we have done. We have done everything we can to also help independent artists, childrens' artists, as well as stage workers and the institutions we hold so dear."

In a statement, Shaham – The Israeli Actors' Organization said, "This is positive progress, but God is in the details. We thank Culture Minister Chili Tropper for the great effort he made in recent weeks …. The bottom line: The compensation needs to reach the pockets of artists, creators, and stage workers. If the money remains in the hands of the institutions, we haven't done much. Therefore, in the coming days, we will study the fine print of the framework and ascertain the money goes to those who really need it."

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Some one-third of working Israelis (32%) say they have missed workdays in the past week, and just around one-third (27%) say their children have been in school over that same time. The rest say their children haven't gone to school at all (20%) or just partially (53%), according to a poll conducted by the Maagar Mochot research institute for Israel Hayom that included 508 participants aged 18 and older.

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The figures confirm what every Israeli living here through the fifth wave of the pandemic already knows – that in actuality a "quiet quarantine" is taking place, as opposed to the government openly declaring a general quarantine of the population, which is the case in several countries across the globe, including China and The Netherlands. 

This "quiet quarantine" can be seen and felt across all sectors and aspects of life outside the home, from half-empty classrooms, relatively uncongested roads, half-empty trains and buses, shows and other cultural events that have been canceled en masse, and the semi-barren shopping malls and commercial centers.

This situation, which is so grave from an economic, social, and public health perspective, as the poll reflects, also stands in complete contrast to the arrogant, disconnected declarations by certain government ministers, such as Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who said "the restaurants are full" – or Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton, who has repeatedly said 90% of Israeli students are going to school per normal.

It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the poll showed that Shasha-Biton received the lowest marks for her performance during the fifth wave (only 18% gave her a high or very high grade), along with Lieberman (just 20%). Meanwhile, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz (23%), Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (25%), Foreign Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid (26%), and Defense Minister Benny Gantz (35%) received high or very high marks from the public. 

According to the poll, just 22% of those questioned give the government a high or very high mark for its handling of the COVID crisis, 30% give it a mediocre grade, and nearly half (48%) give it a failing grade.

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Israel's number of new confirmed COVID cases continued to spiral, with 43,815 new COVID cases discovered Tuesday, the Health Ministry reported Wednesday, after 12.09% of the over 326,000 tests processed Tuesday came back positive.

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As of Wednesday morning, nearly 100,000 students in public schools were in quarantine, 73,550 of whom had active or symptomatic cases.

There were 222,877 active or symptomatic cases of COVID nationwide on Wednesday.

A total of 254 people were hospitalized in serious or critical condition, of whom 63 were on ventilators and 12 were hooked up to ECMO machines, figures that have more than doubled in a seven-day period.

Israel's COVID death toll since the start of the pandemic stands at 8,274.

Nearly 4.36 million Israelis have received both doses of the vaccine and a booster shot, and 424,130 have received both doses and two booster shots.

A team of researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem who are advising the Coronavirus cabinet presented on Tuesday updated models that show that if the current wave of transmission continues, Israel will see new cases peak at 800,000 to 2 million in approximately two weeks, with anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 people hospitalized with serious cases. Some 2-5% of the serious cases are predicted to be children under 11, the researchers said.

On Monday, national coronavirus response coordinator Professor Salman Zarka warned that if more than 1,200 people were hospitalized for COVID at one time, the healthcare system would be unable to cope and a lockdown would be unavoidable.

Regional Cooperation Minister Esawi Frej told Ynet on Tuesday that Israel was heading toward herd immunity, adding that within three weeks, anywhere from 2 to 4 million people in the country should test positive.

On Tuesday, Israel cut the isolation time for asymptomatic COVID-19 cases from 10 days to seven, hoping to keep schools and the economy open as Omicron infections sweep the country.

People infected with the coronavirus and not suffering symptoms for three days can be out of isolation after seven days, the Health Ministry said in a statement. Those showing symptoms were required to continue to isolate for 10 days.

The decision came after a ministry study of 80 COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant of the virus. Lab tests showed that the likelihood of virus growth after seven days of illness was 6%, the Health Ministry said.

"The study conducted by Health Ministry experts shows that the chance that an Omicron patient will be contagious after this period of time is very low. We will not impose isolation beyond what is required, in order to maintain health, keep the economy, education system and culture going and to maintain routine life alongside the coronavirus," Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said.

Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton spoke Wednesday about her determination to keep schools open.

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"We are realizing more and more that it does immense damage to children, and we're now seeing the serious affects the lockdowns had on the kids. After a complicated year and a half and the mental health issues the students developed, we fought to start the school year on Sept. 1 despite criticism of the decision, and we made a commitment to keep school going for the sake of our children's emotional health and stability," Shasha-Biton said.

Despite the high numbers of COVID cases and quarantined students, Shasha-Biton said that "As of today [Wednesday], 90% of children are in school. I'm away of the problems and challenges. We are in difficult times and not everything is perfect, but we owe it to our children. I'll keep fighting for the 'Green Classroom' program to avoid needless quarantines," she said.

Meanwhile, healthcare officials warned Tuesday that Israel's Arab sector was poorly prepared for the Omicron wave.

A high-ranking official in the Arab healthcare sector in Jerusalem warned that the situation in the capital's Arab neighborhoods was about to "get out of control."

"In the morning, instructions say one thing, in the afternoon, another. There aren't clear decisions. The people at the top don't know how to manage things," the official said.

"People aren't buying home testing kits, or going to testing sites," the official added.

Arab communities in northern Israel appeared to be better off, although residents were still slower to respond to public health instructions than the general population in the rest of the country. The town of Shfaram has set up a testing site for members of any HMO.

Local officials said that they have seen increased demand for testing, and that messaging about COVID is consistent in schools.

i24NEWS contributed to this report

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The Israel Association of Travel Agencies and Consultants, the Moreshet Derech tour guides' organization, and the Israel Hotel Association, which have petitioned the High Court of Justice against the stringent travel bans to and from Israel, filed on Tuesday evening a response to the government's answer to their petition.

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The groups said that the government's policy of limited entry and departures to and from Israel will do nothing to stop the spread of the Omicron COVID variant, and included an opinion from former Deputy Director of the Health Ministry Professor Itamar Grotto.

Grotto wrote that publicly reported data made it clear that the Omicron variant was already spreading in the community in Israel. Grotto argued that it was reasonable to assume that more confirmed Omicron cases had been contracted through community contact than through carriers who entered Israel.

According to Grotto, there is no epidemiological justification for the government's policy of shutting down air travel.

Moreover, the petitioners said, the decision to cancel mandatory quarantine for vaccinated Israelis who were exposed to confirmed Omicron carriers also mandated a cancellation of quarantine for vaccinated Israelis and Israelis who have recovered from COVID who return from abroad.

"Since the written position was submitted, my opinion has only grown stronger that there is no reason to limit travel to 'red' countries, or limit entry for vaccinated tourists or force vaccinated Israelis returning from abroad to quarantine. The spread of Omicron in the community justifies that travel restrictions be lifted, in accordance with the government's own position," Grotto wrote.

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Israel is seeing an increase in the number of COVID cases among children, and the healthcare system is already at peak capacity in the intensive care units, Chief COVID-19 Officer at the Health Minister Professor Salman Zarka said Monday at a meeting of government officials.

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The number of confirmed COVID cases in Israel now tops 1,000 for the first time in two months, the Health Ministry reported Monday morning.

The 1,004 new cases identified by testing in the last 24 hours is the highest since Oct. 20, and the reproduction rate in Israel continues to rise, reaching 1.22 on Monday, compared to 1.14 on Sunday. This means that every confirmed COVID carrier spreads the virus to an average of 1.22 other people.

There were 7,231 active or symptomatic COVID-19 patients in Israel on Monday, including 81 listed in serious condition. A total of 42 hospitalized patients were on ventilators. The total death toll from COVID-19 since the pandemic hit Israel in early 2020 stands at 8,232, with no new deaths reported since Saturday, Dec. 18.

On Sunday night, Zarka said in an interview to Israel Hayom that he expected there would be "thousands" of COVID patients in Israel within two weeks.

"We're heading into a wave that's unlike anything we've seen in the past. The numbers will be higher," he warned.

"The Delta variant was a very contagious wave, whereas Omicron is two to four times as contagious. The fact that today [Sunday] we have 175 confirmed Omicron cases is the result of our rapid response three weeks ago, when we stopped tourism. Without that, we could already have thousands," Zarka said.

Zarka also noted that the Health Ministry's strategy to combat Omicron was to open some 500 vaccination sites by the end of this week, some of which will be located at shopping centers and community centers, in addition to vaccination-mobiles. The ministry hopes to make vaccinations accessible as possible to both children and adults, he said.

"We're very worried about the Omicron wave, which has already begun. If we look at Europe, we realize that we're two-three, at the most – weeks away, and we're trying to translate that to as much protection as possible among the population," he said.

Zarka stressed that vaccines provides the best form of protection: "This week, we're at about 80 vaccination sites and we want to increase that to 400-500, and I hope it will happen this week and at the start of next week. We need to do it for the sake of the people, from the realization that it's wrong to meet Omicron when you're not protected. In addition, we're working to make the community clinics more accessible so no one will have a problem coming to be vaccinated. We'll wash the country in vaccines," he said.

Zarka spoke after last week the percentage of children in the Arab Israeli center vaccinated against COVID jumped from 1.1% to 4.6%.

Healthcare authorities believe the increased vaccination rate to be the result of the campaign to provide vaccinations in schools.

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The first week Israel deployed vaccination-mobiles at public schools, a total of 11,745 children and 450 adults were vaccinated for COVID. The Health Ministry plans to expand its vaccination campaign and enlist hospital personnel to help with it. A senior ministry official said that the number of mobile vaccination stations would be increased from 50 to some 150, and that they would visit some 500 sites a day.

For now, the ministry has avoided taking advantage of the IDF Home Front Command's logistical capabilities to execute the campaign.

Meanwhile, a senior official in the government's campaign against COVID said that the country's contact tracing system was not prepared to handle a wave of new confirmed cases and that new personnel needed to be hired immediately.

"The current number of contact tracers is enough to handle 500 to 1,000 confirmed cases [per day], but when the numbers are on the rise, we need to prepare for the next stage, of 1,000 to 3,000 confirmed cases per day," the official said.

"The reason we aren't doing that is because there are some people who won't approve the budget for it, and it's frustrating. If we don't build up our personnel now, and quickly, we won't be able to handle the pace of contact tracing, no two ways about it. In two or three weeks we'll have a hard time with it," the official added.

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Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was self-isolating on Tuesday after someone who was on his flight back from the United Arab Emirates on Monday tested positive for COVID.

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After receiving the information, the Prime Minister's Office contacted the Health Ministry for further instructions.

In accordance with COVID regulations, Bennett and his entourage went into self-isolation pending negative results from the COVID tests they are scheduled to take on Wednesday.

New travel regulations require anyone returning from abroad, regardless of vaccination status, to enter quarantine upon arriving in Israel.

The arrivals can be released only if they receive two negative PCR tests, one conducted on the day of their entry to Israel, and another three days after.

As of Tuesday, there were 744 new confirmed COVID cases in Israel and a total of 6,186 active or symptomatic COVID patients.

A total of 90 COVID patients were hospitalized in serious condition nationwide, 59 of whom were listed in critical condition, including 48 patients who were on ventilators and 17 who were attached to ECMO machines.

Israel's total COVID death toll since the start of the pandemic in early 2020 stood at 8,223 after an additional seven patients succumbed to the virus between Monday and Tuesday, bringing the number of COVID dead in the last seven days to 12.

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Meanwhile, a study released by South Africa's largest private health insurer reported Tuesday that two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine appear to have given 70% protection against hospitalization in South Africa in recent weeks.

The study by Discovery Health was based on more than 211,000 positive COVID-19 test results from Nov. 15 to Dec. 7, around 78,000 of which were attributed to Omicron.

The 78,000 results are not confirmed Omicron cases, meaning the study is not able to make conclusive findings about the variant labelled "of concern" by the World Health Organization.

South African scientists have so far confirmed around 550 Omicron sequences, with the variant accounting for 78% of sequences from November, more than the previously dominant Delta variant.

The study calculated that two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech offered 70% protection against hospitalization compared with the unvaccinated during the recent surge in cases and 33% protection against infection.

It said this represents a drop from 80% protection against infection and compares with above 90% efficacy against hospital admission during South Africa's outbreak of the Delta variant, which is the globally dominant variant and considered to be the most infectious to emerge during the pandemic.

Discovery cautioned that the study's findings should be considered preliminary.

As of Tuesday morning, a total of 6,414,985 Israelis had received a single dose of the COVID vaccine; 5,792,511 Israelis had received two doses, and 4,230,143 had received two doses and a booster shoot.

i24NEWS contributed to this report

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Israel's coronavirus infection rate stands at 8.43%, according to Health Ministry data published Friday. Of the 140,967 people who tested for the virus Thursday, 11,210 were found to have COVID-19.

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Israel has 91,936 active cases of the virus. There are 667 Israelis in serious condition, 143 of whom are on ventilators.

Although 1,002,182 people have recovered from the virus since the start of the pandemic, 7,122 have died.

On the inoculation front, over 6,005,150 Israelis have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Over 5,501,924 have received two doses, and over 2,493,222 Israelis have received three.

Israelis will no longer need to quarantine for one week upon returning to the country from overseas under new Health Ministry guidelines that took effect Friday. According to the guidelines, individuals inoculated with three doses of the coronavirus vaccine, as well those who received their second dose within the last six months, will need to quarantine for 24 hours or until they receive a negative test result, whichever comes first.

While the Health Ministry has yet to publish official guidelines for the upcoming High Holidays, Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash has recommended Israelis downsize their gatherings and ask all those attending to take a rapid coronavirus test in advance. Ash further recommended guests keep their distance from one another and celebrate in the open air – in yards, parks, or on balconies – when possible.

Noting these were not government-mandated steps, Ash told Israel Hayom he nevertheless recommended families adopt a "green family pass" for such an occasion. "Anyone who hasn't yet been vaccinated, get vaccinated today," he said.

As for prayer services, Ash said, "It's better to hold prayers outdoors and not in synagogues. We worked with local authorities to allow this."

The ministry has engaged in outreach efforts with the Haredi community to advocate outdoor prayers.

Israeli Medical Association Chairman and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev School of Public Health Director Professor Nadav Davidovitch expressed concern over the spread of the virus ahead of the holidays.

"Morbidity levels in Israel remain high. We face a significant challenge …. ahead of the holiday period, the prayers, and communal meals. We must all think and speak to family and friends about how we plan to celebrate and how we can better conduct ourselves at holiday meals, including [in] a ventilated place and [by] limiting the number of participants," he said.

"We can't leave things up in the air," Davidovitch said. "The state must issue guidelines, but we already know what it's like to live with the coronavirus and can behave responsibility by adapting to the complex situation at hand."

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Portugal on Wednesday became the first European country to ban entry to Israelis following the European Union's recommendation its 27 member-states reimpose restrictions on tourists from seven countries, including Israel, because of rising coronavirus infections there.

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The Portuguese ban, which also covers vaccinated Israelis and those able to provide proof of a negative coronavirus test, comes one day after Italy announced it would tighten restrictions on Israeli visitors. On Monday, Rome announced Israelis would only be allowed entry if they were vaccinated, had recovered from the virus in the last six months, or were able to present a negative coronavirus test. Unvaccinated Israelis or those who had not recovered from the virus would require quarantine upon entry, the Italian government said.

"Nonessential travel to the EU from countries or entities not listed [on the safe list] ... is subject to temporary travel restriction," the council said in a statement Monday. "This is without prejudice to the possibility for member states to lift the temporary restriction on nonessential travel to the EU for fully vaccinated travelers."

In addition to Israel, the EU also removed the United States, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro, and North Macedonia from the safe travel list.

The European Council updates the safe travel list every two weeks based on criteria related to coronavirus infection levels. The threshold for being on the EU safe list is having not more than 75 new COVID cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the last 14 days.

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Two days before the 2021-22 school year is due to open on Sept. 1, nearly 88,000 students in Israel's public school system were in quarantine on Monday, 32,528 of whom are active or symptomatic carriers, the Health Ministry reported Monday.

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An additional 4,288 school staff were in quarantine, approximately half of whom are symptomatic.

The positive test rate for teachers and students stood at 8.8%, higher than the national positive test rate of 7.81%, which still comprises the highest rate seen in Israel since Feb. 10.

From midnight Sunday to Monday morning, an additional 52 COVID patients were listed in serious condition, a relatively high number for so early in the day. The virus reproduction rate remained stable at 1.1.

Despite the rise in the number of new serious COVID cases, the total number of serious cases nationwide appears to be stabilizing, with 731 patients in serious condition on Monday morning, including 160 on ventilators.

A total of 1,167 COVID patients were hospitalized as of Monday morning.

Since the pandemic hit Israel in early 2020, 6,880 Israelis have succumbed to the virus, including eight who died on Sunday.

On Sunday, Israel decided to expand its booster shot campaign to all eligible age groups.

Announcing the decision, Health Ministry Director-General Professor Nachman Ash said,"The decline in the effectiveness of the vaccines with time is proving to be significant," he said. "Today we are expanding the possibility of receiving a booster for the entire population, provided that five months have passed since they've received the second dose."

Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said there was no doubt that a booster shot was "effective in preventing infection, and it significantly reduces the risk of serious and fatal illnesses."

COVID booster shots will now be offered to everyone age 12 and over.

With the expanded booster shot guidelines, the Health Ministry has decided that starting Oct. 1, only Israelis who have received the booster or who received the second dose of the vaccine fewer than five months ago (meaning after May 1) will be eligible for the ministry's "green pass" vaccination certificate. The ministry plans to cancel the certificates of anyone who does not comply.

In addition, starting Sept. 3, Israelis who receive the booster shot will be exempt from mandatory quarantine upon returned from foreign countries listed "orange" (starting one week after receiving the booster) and will only have to self-quarantine until they receive a negative COVID test.

i24NEWS contributed to this report

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For the first time in four months, Israel has over 10,194 active cases of the virus.

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Of the 75,654 people who tested for the virus Thursday, 1,263 were found to have COVID-19, for an infection rate of 1.83%.

Eighty-one Israelis are in serious condition, 23 of whom are in critical condition and 17 on ventilators.  Although 840,801 people have recovered from the virus, 6,457 have died.

According to the government's traffic-light plan for ranking local authorities according to infection rates, one Israeli community is now "red," 15 are "orange," and 57 are "yellow."

In an interview with Army Radio Friday, Dr. Arnon Shahar, who serves on the panel advising the government on the coronavirus, said: "We expect additional waves, we're before the winter."

"The more vaccinated people there are, [the more] we can contain morbidity. The studies may sound confusing, but this [Pfizer's] vaccine is effective. We can't talk about herd immunity until all age groups can be vaccinated," he said.

On Friday, the Health Ministry presented data according to which officials had ascertained the status of just 42% of the nearly 23,000 people currently in quarantine.

Meanwhile, the IDF's Homefront Command has called to increase the number of people involved in epidemiological investigations as well as the number of investigations themselves. Currently, investigations are launched into confirmed patients only, with those investigations being prioritized due to a shortage of manpower.

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