Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's wife and children will fly abroad for a vacation Wednesday, though a few days ago the premier implored Israelis to avoid travel due to concerns over the spread of the new COVID omicron variant.
According to the Prime Minister's Office, the trip was "planned in advance." Bennett's family members were originally planning to fly to Mauritius, though that trip was cancelled after the east African country was deemed high-risk. The new vacation destination is in accordance with Israel's travel guidelines, the Prime Minister Office said.
The COVID cabinet reaffirmed last week's decision to add about 50 countries and territories in Africa to the list of "red" destinations, effectively barring Israelis from traveling there and barring entry to any non-residents coming from these areas.
At a press conference with Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz and senior health officials, Bennett said that Israel is "preparing for any scenario, including the strictest," and recommended that Israelis not fly abroad.
Israel also shut its borders to foreigners from all countries for 14 days on Saturday to try to contain the spread of omicron and has reintroduced counter-terrorism phone-tracking technology to trace contacts of a handful of people who have likely been infected.
"We are in a new situation," Bennett said at the press conference. "The variant arriving from South Africa is highly concerning" and has raised alarms in the Health Ministry and among epidemiologists worldwide.
He added that South Africa has seen "a sharp rise in cases within a week" and that the new variant had surpassed the delta variant to be the dominant one in that country. It is likely that there are additional cases of this variant in Israel, he said.
At the beginning of a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Bennett said that he asks for "patience and discipline" from the public. "We now need to tighten borders in order to keep the State of Israel open from within. I understand that maybe you need to change your vacation destination and go into isolation when you come back, it's happening to my family as well."
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December 01, 2021 at 11:46PM
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