It’s all about the numbers. Israel has shut its borders to non-Israelis until at least Dec 22, 2021 but that date is expected to be pushed back again. No date has yet been set to reopen those borders. Tourism has been hard hit. This is after all the Christmas season.
Tourism workers striking at Ben Gurion Airport
Israel’s Finance Minister Avigdor Leiberman didn’t make the tourism industry happy when he said on Sunday that workers in the tourism industry should find other employment.
Jobless tourism workers took to the streets demanding compensation caused by the country’s moves. According to media reports, travel agents and tour guides are fuming as foreign tourists are still banned from entering. Nachman Shai, Israel’s Minister for Diaspora Affairs, said at a conference in Florida that he hoped the ban on non-Israelis entering Israel would end soon.
Not only have non-Israelis been barred from entering Israeli, Israelis have now been barred from traveling to nearly 50 countries. And those who return from one of the “Red” countries must submit to a 10-day stay in a government-run hotel, or if they show a negative test after 72-hours to home quarantine for the remaining week. Israel is also considering a regulation that prohibits entry to public areas like malls, restaurants, or stores, including large venues like IKEA, without showing a “green pass” that certifies they’ve had all three vaccines.
Up until recently, Israel’s Covid-19 numbers had been dropping steadily. Then came Omicron. South Africa had first noticed the Omicron variant and health officials there said that the variant was not as dangerous to those inoculated with the vaccines but that the Omicron variant was considerably more contagious. This, while many in Israel felt the danger had passed.
Recently, a group of researchers at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem said Israel was entering a 5th wave of Covid infections. Some speculated that as many as 10,000 cases a day might again be seen in Israel. Israel’s PM Bennet reportedly took the Hebrew University researchers conclusions to heart and went all out on a vaccination campaign. “Vaccines are the only way to protect against the virus,” Bennet said. On Sunday, Dec 12th, PM Bennett said, “We want to delay [Omicron’s] entry into the country through the restrictions at Ben Gurion Airport, and, at the same time, take advantage of these precious days to increase everyone’s immunity. We are not protected enough at the moment.”
In order to protect citizens, Israel has passed regulations allowing children from 5-11 to receive the vaccines. Regulations were already in place for children 11-18. So, in effect, anyone over 5 could get vaccinated. However, not everyone took the Prime Minister’s advice. Out of the 9.5 million Israelis, 4,125,553 have received all three doses of the Pfizer vaccine, 5,790,662 have received two doses, and 6,408,357 only one dose. As if backing Bennet’s claim, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla stated recently that those vaccinated with all three Pfizer shots were protected from the Omicron variant. Two shots, according to Bourla, were not enough. Israel has also been considering administering a 4th vaccine to fight the Omicron variant, fearing the effectiveness of the 3rd vaccine waned after several months, but the Health Ministry announced today the 4th vaccine had been postponed.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
According to a Reuters report, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that the first patient in England with the Omicron variant has died. Johnson said that ”the Omicron variant now accounts for around 40% of infections in the capital… And that the infection rate from the virus doubles every 2-3 days.”
Johnson spoke after UK scientists raised the COVID alert level to 4 on a 5-point scale. Johnson said in an interview, “Britain faces a ‘tidal wave’ of the Omicron variant of coronavirus and two vaccine doses will not be enough to contain it.” Johnson also said he’d accelerated the booster rollout program.
Before the death was announced, Britain said 10 people had been hospitalized with the Omicron variant in various parts of England. Their ages ranged from 18 to 85 years and most had received two vaccination doses. The UK Health Security Agency said Omicron - first detected in South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong in late November - can overcome the immunity of those who have had two shots of vaccines such as AstraZeneca, or Pfizer-BioNTech.
Infection Statistics according to ncov2019.live/data
World: 270,458,346 infections, 5,322,991 deaths, and 23,439,638 active cases. In the USA, 50,801,455 cases, 817,956 deaths, 9,979,825 active cases. In Britain, 10,819,515 cases, 146,439 deaths, 985,934 active cases. Israel has experienced 1,350,215 cases, with 8,216 deaths, currently 94 in serious condition, most unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated, of them 21 on ventilators, and 5,608 active cases. Israel reported 444 new cases on Sunday. And so far Israel has 67 confirmed Omicron cases. The death of a 6-year-old boy in Netivot was reported today. He had recovered from Covid, but collapsed at home, where he died. His 3 siblings, who had also previously contracted Covid, were all taken to the hospital suffering from difficulty in breathing.
One observer, when asked when Israel’s borders will again be open to non-Israelis, said, ‘Watch the numbers. As long as they keep going up, the borders will remain closed. When they start dropping, the borders will open up again.”
Meanwhile, Israel is playing defense, trying to keep the Omicron variant out of the country, and trying to vaccinate as many people as possible. The problem is, not everyone wants to be vaccinated nor believes the vaccine is safe, no matter what doctors and health experts around the world have to say.
