Israeli public health officials said on Monday that several dangerous COVID variants have begun to develop in a number of countries around the world. One variant, the Lambda variant, has been spreading rapidly throughout South America, especially in Peru, and has been found in 29 countries, including Germany, Spain, the UK and the US, where at least 152 cases have been reported in California. The Lamda variant is thought to be less infectious than the Delta variant but more infectious than COVID-19. However, preliminary research has shown that it is at least somewhat resistant to existing vaccines.

A Yisrael Hayom report on Tuesday revealed that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett instructed senior Health Ministry officials to compromise on standards of healthcare in order to reach “certain numbers.” Dr. Miki Halbertal, director of Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, participated in meetings last week with Bennett and senior officials from the Health and Finance Ministries. Halbertal said that during a discussion about the capability [or incapability] of hospitals to treat hundreds to thousands of severely ill coronavirus patients, the atmosphere became very tense, with Bennett and other senior government officials placing a tremendous amount of pressure on coronavirus czar Prof. Nachman Ash and other senior health officials. “We need to reach these numbers,” Bennett said.

About 500 Israeli children aged 5-11 received their first coronavirus vaccine dose over the past two weeks, Yisrael Hayom reported on Monday. No significant side effects have been reported and some Kupot Cholim reported no side effects at all. All the children have been scheduled to receive their second dose. Israel began vaccinating children aged 5-11 at high-risk at the beginning of August under special approval of the Health Ministry. Most of the children suffer from serious background illnesses, such as respiratory diseases, cancer, severe obesity, cardiomyopathy, or immunodeficiency.

Israel continues to see a continuous rise in COVID cases and seriously ill patients, with 877 coronavirus patients hospitalized and over 524 patients in serious condition on Sunday, the first time since March that the number of seriously ill patients has surpassed 500. Israel’s ICUs and coronavirus wards are already overflowing and at least one hospital, Assaf HaRofeh in Be’er Yaakov, is not accepting any more coronavirus patients. Ambulances are waiting outside hospitals for hours until beds can be freed for new patients. Also, according to a Kan News report, hospitals will be canceling elective medical procedures in order to free staff members to work in COVID wards.

An interesting phenomenon has been noticed about Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s recent speeches and media posts about the coronavirus – an avoidance of the word “COVID” replaced by the word “Delta.” For example, Bennett published a long Facebook post on Motzei Shabbos outlining his strategy to fight the alarming surge in coronavirus cases. He began the post by writing: “I would like to share our national plan to deal with the ‘Delta wave’ sweeping the world.

A survey carried out by the IDF’s Home Front Command showing that only 30% of the Israeli public would adhere to a lockdown over the Yamim Tovim was presented to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett this week. According to a Channel 12 News report, the survey caused Bennett to dismiss a lockdown as a measure to reduce the surging morbidity and instead focus on expanding the vaccine campaign. Bennett also ordered the Home Front Command’s Alon Command Center to expand its performance of epidemiological investigations and coronavirus tests. The report added that Bennett instructed medical personnel to prepare within a week to provide at-home treatment to patients evacuated from hospitals to their homes in order to lessen the burden on overcrowded hospital wards.

HaGaon HaRav Ben-Tzion Motzafi, a leading Sephardi Posek and Rosh Yeshivah in Eretz Yisrael, slammed the Bennett-Lapid’s government mismanagement of the coronavirus crisis. One of HaRav Motzafi’s talmidim wrote to him on Wednesday, telling him that his grandfather was a bit worried about getting the third vaccine.

Israel’s government on Wednesday advanced a raft of new coronavirus restrictions, including sweeping implementation of a digital vaccine passport and tighter restrictions on mass gatherings, as the country struggles with skyrocketing new infections. The country that had appeared to put the coronavirus pandemic behind it a few months ago after a world-leading vaccine drive is now re-imposing regulations in a bid to clamp back down on infections. The Cabinet gave its approval for the tighter measures — including limitations on people gathering indoors and restricting entry to venues and restaurants to “Green Pass” holders — as new cases of the highly infectious delta variant of the coronavirus surge despite widespread vaccination against COVID-19.

Israeli health officials sounded an alarm this week, warning Prime Minister Naftali Bennett that there could be thousands of coronavirus patients requiring hospitalization within weeks. In a meeting on Tuesday evening, senior medical experts told Bennett that they expect about 4,800 coronavirus patients to be hospitalized by September 10, with about half requiring acute care, a scenario that would severely strain Israel’s medical system. Directors of hospital internal medicine wards told Health Ministry Director Nachman Ash on Wednesday that they are already dealing with overcrowding and fear their beds will be moved to coronavirus wards.

Israel’s Education Ministry said that nearly 45% of Chareidi students are exempt from quarantine according to preliminary results of serological tests performed in Charedi schools this week. Over 20% of Chareidi students who were tested were found to have antibodies against COVID. In addition, 24% of students were confirmed to have recovered from COVID or have been fully vaccinated. The serological testing will be expanded to all schools when they reopen on September 1 and students who have antibodies will be granted a Green Pass exempting them from quarantine if a classmate is diagnosed with COVID.