Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Tuesday warned that Israel will soon experience an unprecedented “storm of COVID infections on a scale never seen before in Israel.”

In an interview with Kan News early Tuesday morning, Bennett said that he can’t rule out the possibility of a lockdown in the future.

“The Omicron is different from everything we know,” he said. “It is breaking world records in almost every place. The vaccines aren’t entirely preventing infections but dramatically decrease the rate of severe illness.”

Bennett also mentioned the expected rise in pediatric hospitalizations due to COVID. Hebrew University researchers warned last weekend that at least 4% percent of severely ill COVID patients infected with the Omicron variant will be children.

Later on Tuesday, Bennett’s office announced that vaccinated Israelis who were in contact with an Omicron carrier will no longer be required to quarantine for seven days. Instead, they will only have to quarantine until they receive a negative coronavirus test result and will be asked to avoid crowds and contact with high-risk populations over the next ten days. Those who are unvaccinated will continue to be required to quarantine for seven days.

The new rules go into effect on Wednesday.

Also Tuesday, the Health Ministry confirmed 2,952 new COVID cases, a three-month high. The “R” reproduction rate has skyrocketed to 1.47, the highest number in seven months.

According to Prof. Eran Segal of Weizmann Institue, about 60% of new coronavirus patients are likely to be Omicron carriers.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)