Israel is drastically expanding its testing requirement. Now it’s the turn of the children. The corona infections have increased dramatically. The delta variant is rampant.
Tel Aviv – Israel has long been a role model in the corona pandemic. But the number of infections is higher than it has been in months. Now children from the age of three must submit a negative corona test from next week for entering schools, swimming pools, hotels or sports facilities.
Israel introduces compulsory testing for children aged three and over
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Thursday evening that the corona tests for children from three to eleven years will be free from next Wednesday. So far, children in Israel from the age of twelve had to show proof of a corona vaccination, recovery or a negative test.
Israel starts third corona vaccination for 50-year-olds
At the same time, from this Friday 50-year-olds can receive a third Covid-19 vaccination as a booster. So far, the age limit for the third dose of vaccine was 60 years. The boosters are designed to increase immunity after a vaccination six months ago.
“The campaign to vaccinate people over the age of 60 is a huge success,” said Bennett. Now all over 50-year-olds are asked to do the same in this age group. This is an important step in the fight against the delta variant of the corona virus, which is also rampant in Israel.
According to the Ministry of Health, 770,000 Israelis have already received a third dose. The World Health Organization (WHO) criticized Israel and other countries such as Germany in offering their residents a third dose of vaccine while in many other countries around the world people are still waiting for their first vaccination.
Israel was one of the first countries in the world to launch a major vaccination campaign against Covid-19 in mid-December. As a result of the vaccination campaign, new corona infections fell sharply. Due to the delta variant, however, these have increased again in recent weeks, both in the unvaccinated and in people who had been vaccinated more than six months ago.
Coronavirus in Israel
- Israel has a population of around nine million.
- Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, more than 927,000 people in Israel have been proven to be infected with Sars-CoV-2.
- 6,600 fatalities have been recorded so far.
Israel records around 6,000 new corona infections every day. According to the authorities, 6,083 people were infected with Sars-CoV-2 within 24 hours. The number of Covid 19 patients in intensive care units is also increasing. According to the data, 462 patients are in critical condition. More than in six months. For comparison: in mid-June there were only 20 patients. (afp / ml)
