The Omicron coronavirus variant has been detected in Israel's sewage system, the country's pandemic czar said on Monday, an indication that the new strain is far more prevalent than previously thought.
According to samples taken a week ago, the mutation has been found in the sewage systems of the northern towns of Harish and Nesher, in the central city of Netanya and in the southern city of Ashdod.
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Coronavirus czar Prof. Salman Zarka during Monday's hearing in Knesset
(Photo: Knesset's spokesperson)
Speaking during a special joint hearing of Knesset's health and constitution committees, Prof. Salman Zarka said that Health Ministry officials will meet Monday to discuss possible restrictions on public gatherings and later present them to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
"We understand that we are dealing with an infectious strain, so we must examine what future steps we are going to take," he said.
He added that there has been an increase in COVID infection among children as well as a spike in patients admitted to intensive case units.
"We were the first in the world to offer the third vaccine dose. Regarding populations at risk, we are holding discussions on a possibility of offering a fourth vaccine and we will see if we can reach an understanding."
During the same meeting, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz warned about the strain's rapid spread in Israel.
"The variant is accelerating rapidly and is showing an ability to spread we have not witnessed with past strains," he said.
Horowitz again stressed that the only effective way to deal with the pandemic is with the vaccines. "We are not seeing a suffice rise in inoculations," he said. "People ask me 'is the public guilty?' The public is not guilty but it must be said that the state is offering the vaccines to everyone for free.
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Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz during Sunday's hearing in Knesset
(Photo: Knesset's spokesperson)
"At the end of the day, it is parents first and foremost who are responsible for vaccinating their children. If a parent chooses not to vaccinate their children - that's their prerogative. If you want to protect your children from the disease - you need to protect them. If you don't want them to become seriously ill or suffer from long-COVID - you need to vaccinate them. The state cannot replace the parent's responsibility for their children."
Head of Public Health Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis reiterated Horowitz's statements, saying she would urge even those who recently recovered from the virus to get inoculated, since natural antibodies appear to be weaker when faced with Omicron.
"Vaccines do not have prolonged side effects lasting years. It makes no biological sense to say it. We know from seven million children who were vaccinated in the United States and from 100,000 children in Israel who did not report significant side effects."
Also on Monday, Israel added the United States to its "no-fly" list, citing concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.
Besides U.S. and Canada, the cabinet — acting on Health Ministry recommendations -also voted to put Italy, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Morocco, Portugal, Switzerland and Turkey on the no-fly roster, Prime Minister NaftaBennett's office said in a statement.