Israel is preparing to suspend all incoming passenger flights for a two-week period in a bid to prevent the spread of highly-infectious Covid-19 variants.
The suspension is subject to Cabinet approval and would see all incoming and outgoing flights halted for 14 days.
The country, which has the world’s fastest vaccine distribution rate, has been under a third national lockdown since December 27.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suggested a plan to suspend all flights for two weeks to prevent the spread of mutant Covid-19 variants
Israel recorded 4,933 new cases and 75 deaths on Saturday, bringing the respective totals to 593,961 and 4,341.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting with officials from the Health Ministry, the Transportation Ministry, the National Security Council, and the Civil Aviation Authority to discuss the move on Saturday night.
An initial agreement was reached to prevent the entry into Israel of additional coronavirus mutations.
Netanyahu will today seek government approval over the plans.
They would see flights at Ben Gurion airport significantly reduced, with only those needing to travel for ‘exceptional circumstances’ permitted to do so with the approval of a committee headed by the transport ministry.
Travellers arrive at the check-in desk at the departures area of Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, on January 24. Israel is preparing to suspend all incoming passenger flights for a two-week period in a bid to prevent the spread of highly-infectious Covid-19 variants
According to local news reports, the travel ban will apply to everyone, including those who have already been vaccinated against Covid-19.
Israel recorded 4,933 new cases and 75 deaths on Saturday, bringing the respective totals to 593,961 and 4,341.
It comes as the country expanded its COVID-19 vaccination drive on Sunday to include 16- to 18-year-olds in what the government described as an effort to enable their attendance at school exams.
Israel, which has the world’s fastest vaccine distribution rate with around 30 per cent of its citizens having had at least a single dose of a jab so far, is hoping to begin reopening its economy next month.
Or, an 18-year-old teenager, receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at Clalit Health Services, in Israel’s Mediterranean coastal city of Tel Aviv, January 23
With regular imports of Pfizer Inc. vaccines, Israel has administered at least one dose to more than 25% of its 9 million population since Dec. 19, the Health Ministry says.
The vaccines were initially limited to the elderly and other high-risk categories, but are now available to anyone over 40 or – with parental permission – those between 16 and 18.
The inclusion of late-teens is meant ‘to enable their return (to school) and the orderly holding of exams,’ the Education Ministry spokeswoman said.
Israel awards a matriculation certificate to high school students in grades 10-12 who pass exams, administered by the Education Ministry, that play a major role in acceptance to universities. They can also affect placement in the military, where many Israelis do compulsory service after high school.
Education Minister Yoav Galant said it was too early to know if schools would reopen next month. Among factors deciding this was how much Israel, which is struggling against a surge of infections, was affected by the contagious variant of the virus first detected in Britain, he told Ynet TV.
Hezi Levy, director-general of Israel’s Health Ministry, was asked in an Army Radio interview whether vaccinating teens might pose unforeseen risks – perhaps to their own yet-unborn children.
‘I don’t know,’ Levy said. ‘This vaccine is no different to vaccines against other viral diseases … and was successfully tested for side effects.’ He added that he had no doubt that – weighing the relative risks from the coronavirus – it was preferable to get the vaccine.
An Israeli healthcare group on Friday said coronavirus infections had plunged among people aged over 60 who had been vaccinated with the Pfizer Biontech vaccine. Pictured: An Israeli healthworker vaccinates an older resident
An Israeli healthcare group on Friday said coronavirus infections had plunged among people aged over 60 who had been vaccinated with the Pfizer Biontech vaccine.
KSM Maccabi Research and Innovation Center claimed on Friday there had been a ‘significant decrease’ in the number of coronavirus infections among people aged over 60 who were vaccinated between December 19 and 24.
After analysing data of more than 50,000 patients aged over 60, they also found that hospitalisations in the same group had plunged by more than 60 per cent.
Israel secured access to large amounts of Pfizer’s jab by agreeing to provide data about its citizens for the company to track how well the jab works.
The new figures are a sign of hope that nationwide infections, deaths and hospitalisations could soon start to see a sustained fall.