As fear of a major COVID wave in Israel spurred by the Omicron variant grows, HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky issued dramatic instructions on Monday evening regarding COVID vaccinations for children. A statement written in HaRav Chaim’s name and reviewed by him stated: “In response to principals of mosdos, HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky responded regarding the issue of COVID vaccines: ‘Definitely order the vaccines to the Talmudei Torah and schools and [the children] should be vaccinated.'” The instructions are causing quite a stir in Chareidi society since there has been a very low turnout to the pediatric vaccination campaign among Israelis in general, and in the Chareidi population in particular.

HaGaon HaRav Shimon Badani, the Zakein Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah, spoke at a Rabbinical conference at Sheba Hospital in Tel HaShomer last week and told over a tragic story. HaRav Badani spoke out against anti-vaxxers, saying that there’s a passuk in the Torah: ‘ונשמרתם מאוד לנפשותיכם’. “Whoever doesn’t fulfill this – it’s very chamur. The vaccines caused mortality to significantly decrease. There are many who tell all types of stories but everyone needs to know that it’s forbidden to refrain from [getting vaccinated]. Whoever refrains is trampling himself and the halacha.” “An incident happened that a woman told her husband that she wants to get vaccinated. He told her stories and convinced her not to get vaccinated. She ended up contracting COVID and passing away.

Anti-vaxxer women came to the kabalas kahal of HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky’s daughter, Rebbetzin Leah Koledetsky, and called her a “murderer” and other derogatory terms and said they won’t leave until the Rebbetzin convinces HaRav Chaim to issue an anti-vaccine statement,  Kikar H’Shabbat reported. Many members of the Kanievsky family have been subject to harassment and abuse by anti-vaxxers in recent weeks. “A few women came in, one of them brought me a stack of medical records, claiming that she took care of children with COVID and saved them without vaccines,” Rebbetzin Koledetsky told a friend. “She asked how we recommend vaccines, claiming that the vaccine kills people.

Israel’s government ministers voted on Monday morning to approve the Health Ministry’s recommendation to place ten additional countries under a travel ban: the United States, Canada, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Hungary, Morocco, Portugal, Switzerland and Turkey. It is the first time that Israel has placed the United States under a travel ban. The measure must still be approved by the Knesset’s Law and Constitution Committee, which is convening on Tuesday morning only hours before the travel ban is set to go into effect on Tuesday night at midnight. Meanwhile, Israel’s infection rate has continued to rise, with 1,004 new cases confirmed on Sunday, the highest daily rate since October. Israel’s coronavirus czar Prof.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned at the Cabinet meeting on Sunday that the fifth COVID wave has already hit Israel. Health officials shared alarming data with the prime minister showing that a significant COVID outbreak surpassing the Delta outbreak is expected within less than three weeks and perhaps as early as two weeks. Bennett is seeking to buy time before the outbreak hits by adding additional countries to Israel’s “red list,” Channel 12 News reported. Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked warned at the meeting that Israel could have tens of thousands of COVID cases within four weeks along with thousands of shuttered classrooms, the report said.

Amid warnings that a significant COVID outbreak of “tens of thousands of cases” will hit Israel in less than three weeks, Israel’s Health Ministry on Sunday recommended adding ten additional countries to the “red list” under an Israeli travel ban, including the United States and Canada. Israelis are banned from traveling to red countries and Israelis who return from countries on the list must quarantine for seven days (rather than three days) upon arriving back in Israel even if they’re fully vaccinated. The other eight countries on the list are Italy, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Morocco, Portugal, Switzerland and Turkey. The countries are expected to be defined as “red” indefinitely, in effect banning Israelis from flying to most countries in the world.

Israel’s Health Ministry informed the Knesset on Thursday afternoon that a Knesset security guard who was tested for COVID was found to be carrying the Omicron variant. The guard who tested positive is the personal guard of UTJ MK Meir Porush, assigned by the Knesset after he was attacked several times by extremists.  The last time the guard was in the Knesset was on Sunday. Following an epidemiological investigation, Porush and 21 security guards and Knesset employees were instructed to enter quarantine. Prior to being instructed to enter quarantine, Porush accompanied US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides on a visit to Bnei Brak earlier on Thursday and entered the homes of HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky and HaGaon HaRav Gershon Edelstein.

Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, the head of Israel’s Health Ministry’s Public Health division, announced at a press conference on Sunday that the UK and Denmark will be added to the list of “red” countries under an Israeli travel ban. Israelis are banned from traveling to red countries and Israelis who return from the UK and other red countries must quarantine for seven days (rather than three days) upon arriving back in Israel even if they’re fully vaccinated. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Sunday that Britain faces a “tidal wave” of infections from the Omicron. On Monday, Johnson confirmed that at least one British COVID patient infected with the Omicron variant has died.

Amid an increase in Omicron cases and a report by Hebrew University researchers saying that Israel has entered its fifth wave, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett convened a meeting of all coalition faction leaders on Motzei Shabbos to discuss implementing additional COVID restrictions. A decision was made to expand the list of red countries, where Israelis are forbidden to travel. According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, the list, which now includes 50 countries, will be reviewed on a daily basis and updated frequently, with more countries to be added to the list in the coming days.

How will the world decide when the pandemic is over? There’s no clear-cut definition for when a pandemic starts and ends, and how much of a threat a global outbreak is posing can vary by country. “It’s somewhat a subjective judgment because it’s not just about the number of cases. It’s about severity and it’s about impact,” says Dr. Michael Ryan, the World Health Organization’s emergencies chief. In January 2020, WHO designated the virus a global health crisis “of international concern.” A couple months later in March, the United Nations health agency described the outbreak as a “pandemic,” reflecting the fact that the virus had spread to nearly every continent and numerous other health officials were saying it could be described as such.