P.M Bennett understands officials who criticized him for his family vacation abroad

The morbidity of the "Omicron" strain in Israel has remained unchanged for the time being: two verified patients. The Corona virus information headquarters reports that it is suspected that seventeen people have been exposed to the virus - fourteen of them are unprotected. Their samples were sent for flooring tests.
Our correspondent Nov Reuben notes that the group of those who are not protected includes those who have not been vaccinated, recover that half a year has passed since their recovery and are vaccinated in the second dose who did not receive an impulse shot after six months. There are also seventeen cases of "low suspicion." These are subjects whose samples have been defined as "borderline positive" and sent for re-examination.
Prime Minister Bennett understands the criticism of his family's travel abroad and says that the Bennett family is subject to exactly the same regulations that apply to all Israeli citizens. "Since I recommended to the public last Friday not to travel abroad we have learned more about the new strain 'Omicron' and the Corona Cabinet has decided which countries are allowed to travel and under what conditions," the prime minister wrote on Twitter.
He noted that his family was scheduled to fly during the Hanukkah holiday to a country that had turned red and that the trip was canceled immediately, and after the new rules became clear his family booked a holiday in the country to which travel is allowed.
"They go out according to the restrictions and of course there will be some isolation on their return," the prime minister stressed.

Senior health officials have criticized Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's family for  going on a holiday abroad since bennet told Israelis to refrain flying for vacation at the present time. "I do not think there is a professional justification for closing the sky now or in the past. But the priority should be considered during a global epidemic and non-essential travel abroad should be reduced," clarified the chairman of the Association of Public Health Physicians, Prof. Hagai Levin. "Personal example and maintaining public trust are critical in times of crisis."
Other senior officials have issued similar criticism. "Personal example is critical in managing the epidemic," said one of them. "Unfortunately, throughout the plague, public figures have repeatedly not really set a personal example, both in Israel and in the world. It is a great pity."
"Lapid's trip was not in place either and seems even more problematic to me, nevertheless it is the prime minister's wife compared to Lapid who himself has a position," he claimed. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid took off for a vacation this weekend, ahead of Bennett's press conference.
The prime minister's family planned to fly to Mauritius and canceled the holiday after it became a red state. They later decided to take off for a country in Europe instead. "I understand the criticism, but since Friday we have learned more about the variant," Bennett responded to the allegations. "Everyone goes out according to all the restrictions and of course will be in isolation as required."
After Bennett's call to refrain from flying at a press conference on Friday, the government decided that African countries, with the exception of the countries of the north of the continent, would be defined as red and the entry of foreigners from them would be banned.

The Ministry of Health updated that so far there are only two in the country that have been infected with certainty in the new corona strain Omicron, along with 17 suspects who were also infected with the variant. The two verified workers are the vaccinated foreign worker at Astraznica who returned from Malawi and traveled by bus to Eilat, and a 32-year-old Israeli who was vaccinated with three Pfizer packages and returned from South Africa.
In addition, the Ministry of Health stated that there are suspicions of another 17 cases of exposure to the variant, cases whose flooring results have not yet been received. Of these, three are completely vaccinated and 14 are defined by the Ministry of Health as unprotected - unvaccinated, recovering half a year after recovery and vaccinated with a second dose six months after the date of vaccination.
One of the 17 suspected suspects is the expert cardiologist Dr. Dan Elian. In a conversation with Ynet, he said: "The doctor who works with me returned from a cardiology conference in London, underwent tests and came out negative. After two days I drove with him to a conference in Caesarea and we drove together in a closed vehicle for an hour, and the next day he started to feel unwell. He did a test and received a positive response to Corona. He sent for all the doctors who work with him to get tested. When I was tested, I also received a positive answer. "
He and his infected friend did not feel any different symptoms from the sellers: "He did not feel well for about two weeks and I - except for a sore throat - had no symptoms at all. The symptoms are very similar to a viral disease and corona."
According to estimates the Omicron is much more contagious than the Delta strain, but at least in the case of both it was not so: "The families of both of us have been tested and neither has been found positive. "My colleague did not get infected and we were very close. On the other hand, two cases cannot be relied on."
He estimated that the fact that he was vaccinated caused him not to get seriously ill: "The fact that we both got the disease relatively easily is definitely related to the vaccine, and this is another opportunity to tell those who have not been vaccinated to go out and get vaccinated."
Dr. Elian from Sheba Tel Hashomer Hospital noted that “at first we had a big concern because it is unfamiliar and we were swept away by everyone’s hysteria, but after a few days the fear went down. In retrospect it was a bit excessive. You have to decide how to proceed when there is a new strain. "When you don't know and start firing in all directions, it shows something not so organized and after two years of having the corona in our lives, it should be different."

The Ministry of Health will weigh data together with the South African Ministry of Health, which show that the effectiveness of three vaccine doses, maintains high efficiency against the Omicron strain and there is a decrease of only a few percent - from 95% to 90%. However, these are still only preliminary data and the Ministry of Health said that they would add more accurate data.
In preventing disease and mortality, the vaccine retains its strength even against the new strain, just as against the Delta strain. At the same time, the Ministry of Health estimates that there are a number of other verified persons in Israel who have not yet been located and the laboratories have been instructed to re-examine tests of those who have recently returned from a red state.
The rate of infection is very high - 1.3 times that of the Delta; Which means that if there is not a broad protective layer of many vaccinated, it can lower our social (national) immunity. That means you need as many vaccinators as possible. It is twice as contagious as the delta. This means a lot of kids who were asymptomatic, can get sick again and that's very worrying.