Input 2021.01.25 08:13
According to local media on the 24th (local time), the Israeli government held a ministerial meeting on the same day and approved a plan to suspend international flights proposed by a meeting of related agencies presided over by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister’s office explained that this is a measure to prevent the introduction of additional mutant viruses.
With this decision, takeoff and landing of all international passenger planes at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv will be banned for six days from 00:00 on the 26th to the 31st, when the third blockade ends.
The Prime Minister’s office added, “If travel is necessary due to special circumstances, it must be approved by a committee led by the Ministry of Health and Transportation.”
The ban on international airliners is one of the strongest measures taken by Israel, which has the highest rate of COVID-19 vaccination in the world, to prevent the spread of the infection and increase the effectiveness of vaccination. Israel has secured a large volume early on condition of providing real-time vaccination data to Pfizer, recording a vaccination rate approaching 30% of the total population (approximately 9.3 million).
According to the Times of Israel statistics, about 2.25 million people completed the first vaccination by the afternoon of the day, and about 973,000 people completed the second vaccination. Although the vaccination rate is the highest relative to the population, the number of new confirmed cases per day in Israel exceeded 10,000.
Mutant viruses were also confirmed one after another. A mutant virus originating from the UK was confirmed in seven pregnant confirmed cases, and a mutant virus confirmation procedure is in progress for three female confirmed cases.
Accordingly, the Israeli authorities extended the period of the 3rd blockade to the end of this month, while strengthening the punishment and enforcement of quarantine rules violators.
It is also speeding up vaccination. Recently, it was included in the vaccination target until the 40s, and vaccinations for adolescents aged 16-18 and pregnant women before college entrance examinations were also started. Late this week, the number of vaccinations per day is approaching 200,000.
Some health ministry officials have expressed an opinion that strong containment measures, such as airport closure, should continue until early March, when 5 million vaccinations are expected to be completed, according to local channel 12 news. Channel 13 also reported that the Ministry of Health has requested approval for the use of close surveillance measures on returnees.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military intelligence agency pointed out that there is a possibility of the emergence of a mutant virus due to the spread of vaccinations, and pointed out that continuous testing of the vaccination and recovery after confirmation is necessary.