In first, Health Ministry says one of the new cases wasn't recently abroad, but had been exposed to traveler returning from South Africa; all 4 received 3 shots

The West Bank has yet to see any official diagnoses of the new coronavirus strain; COVID has been receding in Palestinian areas in recent weeks

Health Ministry chief Ash cautions it is still unclear how vaccine-resistant the strain may be; virus czar Zarka says it will take another week to clarify the impact of the variant

Governor calls on New Yorkers to get vaccinated and wear masks, as several more US states report their first infections from the new variant

But many Israelis returning from abroad are failing to test properly, TV report says, meaning strain could yet gain a foothold in the country

Rising Delta cases already force some governments to reintroduce restrictions; lab tests underway on Omicorn

Officials have said it may take weeks to determine how infectious and dangerous the new coronavirus strain is

PM says he accepts criticism over wife taking kids on vacation days after he recommended against traveling, but defends Gilat as 'most kindhearted person I know'

Health Ministry says 2 confirmed cases are fully vaccinated with Pfizer shot; of the 8 fully vaccinated people who were confirmed or suspected cases, only one had symptoms

Health providers say some kids have arm pain, but not significant enough for parents to report it, as well as isolated cases of moderate fever: 'This shows it's a safe vaccine'