Omicron

845 serious COVID-19 cases, over 83,000 new cases

Nurses top list of quarantined healthcare workers, followed closely by management and cleaning staff - and only then by doctors themselves.

MIT prof: Israel in 'moral bankruptcy' due to COVID policy

Prof. Retsef Levi of the Public Emergency Council for the Coronavirus Crisis says Omicron has toppled the government's COVID narrative.

Hospital director warns: 'We're nearing limit of our abilities'

'Combination of COVID-19 and winter infections has brought us to the limit of our abilities,' director of Galilee Medical Center says.

'Peak in number of severe COVID-19 patients still ahead of us'

Prof. Ran Balicer, head of panel of experts on COVID-19, warns Israel 'not yet at the peak' when it comes to severe illness from COVID-19.

Effect of ending quarantine?

Sharp drop in number of children getting COVID-19 vax

Number of children receiving COVID-19 drops drastically following government decision to cancel quarantine for all exposed schoolchildren.

Israel to expand fourth dose to those under 60?

Health Ministry Director General to weight recommendation to allow fourth dose for entire adult population.

Experts: Clinics may not hold up to overwhelming COVID-19 burden

'Quality of care may take a hit, the peak of severe illness is still ahead of us,' cabinet of experts warns.

Expert: 'I don't see the pandemic ending any time soon'

Prof. Ran Balicer, head of panel of experts on COVID-19, says pandemic won't end anytime soon, Green Pass not relevant to Omicron.

5th Wave:

Has Omicron Wave peaked? Number of new cases stabilizes

783 patients with COVID in serious condition as number of new cases per day appears to stabilize, potentially marking peak of Omicron wave.

The Green Pass is about to expire. What next?

Options include abolition, extension, and expanding the Purple Tag; distinctions based on vax-status are irrelevant in the Omicron era.

Study: Vaccines saved 20,000 Israeli lives

Study by Prof. Itamar Grotto shows death toll would have been about 30,000 without vaccines instead of 8,371.

Pfizer CEO:

'The virus will not be eradicated, we will live alongside it'

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla: The virus will be with us for years to come, we should be able to live normal lives.

New record:

Number of severe COVID-19 cases rises to 732

Israel breaks another record as 20.61% of COVID-19 tests turn out positive.

Radio host calls for unvaxxed to be denied hospital care

Howard Stern says: "In my America, you'd go home and die," claims "nothing happened" to anyone as a result of vaccination.

No quarantine for children or teachers - a dangerous precedent?

If unvaccinated teachers do not have to quarantine when exposed to a COVID-19 carrier, can Israel require other adults to do so?

Top pediatrician:

'Quarantine harms children more than the Omicron'

'Ending quarantine for children is the right thing - I've seen up close the price children pay for quarantine,' top pediatrician says.

Israel to end Green Pass?

Health Ministry examining next steps for thrice-vaccinated whose Green Pass is set to expire, considers eliminating system entirely.

Health Min. official:

'We might be able to cancel quarantine for children'

'If we don't see unusual outbreak of PIMS in other countries, we may change quarantine rules for children,' top Health Min. official says.

US to distribute N95 masks for free

Biden administration to announce plan to distribute hundreds of millions of free, high-quality masks.

WHO: No need to give booster shots to the under-18s

Despite clear evidence of waning vaccine immunity over time, children & adolescents don't need top-up doses, says WHO's chief scientist.

Israel to distribute 25-30 million free antigen tests

Health Minister Horowitz urges: 'Use the tests, safeguard those at risk - it's the social responsibility of each and every one of us.'

'Omicron wave has not peaked - infections are still increasing'

Those returning from a shortened quarantine 'liable to still be contagious,' warns Prof. Mevorach, head of Hadassah's corornavirus ward.

Researcher: Israel has second highest infection rate on earth

Israel is days away from peak of Omicron wave, says Prof. Eran Segal. 2 million Israelis likely have been infected with Omicron.

Health Min. losing control: 'I don't know how many new cases'

'Obvious that when you take shortcuts you'll let someone who is still contagious out of quarantine,' Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis says.

Top doctor: 'I hope this will be the last wave of coronavirus'

Dr. Orly Greenfeld speaks with Israel National News about Omicron & how to raise the reliability of antigen tests.

Pfizer CEO: Current wave will be last with so many restrictions

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla says COVID-19 will be around for many years, but current wave will be 'last with so many restrictions.'

JCC Manhattan aiming to help people 'reclaim pre-COVID life'

'Each of these spikes makes it harder for people to reclaim pre-COVID life,' JCC Manhattan's new director says.

Health Minister promoting:

Quarantine will be shortened to 5 days

Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz instructs professionals to prepare plan to further shorten the COVID-19 isolation period.

Top health official tests positive for COVID-19

Health Ministry advisor Professor Ran Balicer announces he tested positive for COVID-19.

Health Ministry chief:

'If case numbers rise, we'll have to consider lockdown'

Prof. Nachman Ash says next week is "critical" in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fauci: Unclear if yearly boosters will be needed

Top US infectious disease expert: We've only recently boosted people, it's not clear yet if we'll need to do it every year.

Subvariant of Omicron detected in Israel

Subvariant known as BA2 has already been discovered in several countries including China, Denmark, Canada and Singapore.

Free antigen tests for Israeli families?

Pharmaceutical Association of Israel launches project to distribute free antigen tests to families with 4 or more children.

Dramatic rise in number of haredi children getting vaccinated

New Health Ministry data shows 44% rise in vaccinations among haredi children.

England shortens COVID quarantine to 5 days

Move will help address shortage of hospital staff, although data show Omicron is already waning in England.

Top doctor: 'ICUs aren't filled with coronavirus patients'

Prof. Galia Rahav, top doctor at Sheba Medical Center, says hospitals are 'completely packed, we feel the rise in new COVID-19 cases.'

AstraZeneca: Third dose increases antibody response to Omicron

New data from ongoing trial shows increased antibody response to COVID-19 variants following third dose booster with Vaxzevria.

The Israeli economy can remain strong amid Omicron uncertainty

The country must do everything in its power to keep its university campuses open and running. Opinion.

Spain: "Omicron is just like the flu"

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is amongst the first European leaders to push for treating Omicron like the seasonal flu.

Researchers: Israel may see up to 2 million COVID-19 infections

Hebrew University researchers predict Omicron wave will peak in two weeks, with up to 2 million active cases.

Education Ministry Dir. Gen:

'Our policy is to keep the schools open'

Education Min. Director General admits 'reality is complicated, learning isn't happening at the same pace as usual.'

PM calls Netanyahu 'anti-patriotic' for mocking antigen tests

Likud responds: Israelis being forced to pay for unreliable tests; Bennett has lost control of the situation.

Bennett: Israel world leader in protecting elderly from Omicron

PM says Israel prepared for Omicron wave despite record high infection numbers, aim is to keep economy open.

Isolation for COVID patients to be reduced to 7 days

Health Min. decides to reduce isolation period from 10 days after studies find risk of spreading disease after 7 days very low.

Teachers union head: We need to switch to remote learning

'Zoom learning is less effective - but it's the lesser evil,' teachers union chair says.

WHO: Omicron wave on the decline

World Health Organization says data from several countries show Omicron wave starting to wane.

Pfizer CEO: Vaccine for Omicron will be ready in March

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla says the company is already manufacturing doses of its vaccine that targets Omicron variant.

New record: 30,970 new cases of COVID-19 in one day

The number of active cases stands at 169,117, including 221 who are hospitalized in serious condition.

Health Ministry issues new instructions for antigen tests

Samples for antigen tests should be taken from both nose and throat, Health Ministry says.

Doctors who test positive for COVID-19 to continue working?

Sheba Medical Center presents plan to allow coronavirus-positive medical staff to continue working in hospitals.

Report: Omicron represents around 90% of Israel's new cases

Most of those hospitalized with severe COVID-19 cases contracted Delta, but the number of severe Omicron cases is rising.

Report: MDA used less effective tests for rapid testing

New report by Central Lab for Viruses shows MDA used test which are less effective at detecting Omicron than other tests.

New COVID variant sequenced: 'Deltacron'

25 cases of new mutation discovered in Cyprus. Strain is a combination of Delta and Omicron.

Bennett: We're in this together

"I understand the frustration; I know how hard this is. We will all need a lot of patience and staying power to get through this."

When elites betray us

Israelis Yair Golan and Oded Goldreich represent object lessons in moral failure. Op-ed.

COVID expert: Millions will be infected with Omicron

Head of panel of experts which advises government on COVID warns not enough data to say just how high infections at Omicron peak will be.

Fight against COVID-19:

New education outline comes into force

The "traffic light" system will be discontinued and students will continue to physically study in schools.

South African doctor: 'Omicron leaving as quickly as it came'

'In South Africa those who were vaccinated suffered only mild illness from Omicron - unlike those who weren't vaccinated,' Dr. Coetzee says.

Antigen tests miss nearly half of COVID-19 cases

Nearly half (47%) of confirmed cases not detected by antigen tests; 37% detected in antigen tests tested negative in PCR tests.

CDC head: We haven't yet reached Omicron peak

Rochelle Walensky says she does not think the US has yet reached the peak of the Omicron surge.