Israel’s Health Ministry instructed people who attended a musical performance in Beit Shean on Thursday to enter quarantine after a woman in the audience was found to be positive for the coronavirus. Even Israelis who were vaccinated or have recovered from the coronavirus were asked to enter quarantine despite the fact that they are normally exempt from quarantine requirements, apparently due to fears that the woman is infected with the Indian variant, which is apparently more resistant to vaccines than other variants. Meanwhile, less than a week after Israel ended the requirement to wear masks indoors, the Health Ministry reinstated the mask mandate in schools in Modiin and Binyamina, where outbreaks of the Indian variant have occurred. Another outbreak was reported on Sunday in the Jordan Valley after a resident of a kibbutz tested positive for the coronavirus after returning from Dubai. His children also tested positive for the virus and their elementary school was shut down as all the students and staff members undergo testing. Yet another outbreak has occurred at a special needs school in the Sharon area, where at least a dozen teachers tested positive for the coronavirus, including ten who were vaccinated, according to a report by The Jerusalem Post. Students at the school, which accepts students from all over Israel, also tested positive for the virus but it is not yet clear how many. According to a Reuters report, those who received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine developed antibodies three to six times less potent against the Indian variant than against other virus variants, including the South African variant. Additionally, according to a report by Israel’s Coronavirus National Information and Knowledge Center on Sunday, the Indian variant is 60% more contagious than the British COVID variant. However, contrary to the Reuters report, the center’s report added that “it appears that the benefits of Pfizer vaccines are maintained [against the Indian variant], especially in the prevention of serious illness, but mostly in those who received two doses. The benefit of the vaccine for those who received only one dose [such as those who recovered from the coronavirus] is significantly decreased.” The report recommended to “continue acting resolutely to prevent the entry of this variant (and others) from abroad and prevent its continued spread in Israel. It is also recommended to accelerate the rate of immunization in Israel among those eligible for vaccination who have not yet been vaccinated, and in particular, ensure that vaccinated people who have been vaccinated with only one dose will soon receive the second dose.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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