Israel alarmed by Delta Plus sub-variant | 51 recorded cases of the strain

Israel has detected more than 750 coronavirus cases for second day in a row in the context of an epidemic generated by the Delta variant and an alert among the authorities by the possible spread of the Delta Plus sub-variant.

As the government continues to be reluctant to adopt new restrictions, various authorities have reported that among those infected there are 51 patients infected with Delta Plus, the most contagious sub-variant of the Delta strain, which was detected in Israel just six days ago.

The health ministry reported a total of 754 new cases, just below the 760 recorded the day before, the highest number since March.

Meanwhile, the number of critically ill patients has dropped from 45 to 53 and one person has died in the last 24 hours from the virus, the health portfolio added.

Israel, with more than 9 million inhabitants, has around 850,000 coronavirus infections and 6,440 deaths.

The Delta Plus subvariant

Kan radio reported on Tuesday that the health ministry will order genetic sequencing of the strain found in all severe cases with the aim of trace the spread of the Delta Plus sub-variant.

The scientific community still doesn’t know much about the new variant. Delta Plus, which has an additional mutation, the meaning of which is not yet clear. At present, we know that the Delta strain is twice as contagious as the original strain of the virus, detected in China at the end of 2019 and that it is responsible for 90% of cases in recent weeks in Israel.

Restrictions in Israel

Israeli authorities fear that at this rate thousands of people will be quarantined every day, which would cause enormous damage to the economy and interrupt the start of the school year.

Despite this situation, Covid-19 cabinet eased restrictions on Tuesday, shortened the quarantine to seven days and refused to support a proposal from the Department of Health that sought to reimpose limits on meetings.

The health portfolio seeks to partially reintroduce the appeal system Green card for indoor events of more than 100 people such as weddings, shows, gymnasiums, restaurants, cafes and places of worship.

This system establishes that people who have not been vaccinated or cured of the coronavirus will not be able to enter these places unless a rapid test is carried out outside the place or they have a negative test carried out in the 48 hours previous.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett stressed during the Cabinet meeting that the government is working on a series of health measures that have the least impact on the daily activities of the population.

“We hope that all the public fully respect the quarantines, with the tests at the end of the period (isolation), with the vaccines and with the use of masks, ”Bennett said.

For his part, Minister of Health Nitzan Horowitz said: “We are committed to doing everything possible to protect public health with minimal impact on daily life.” At the Cabinet meeting, ministers also decided to set up rapid coronavirus testing sites across the country.

After drastically reducing the number of viral infections, Israel has removed the vast majority of restrictions it had imposed over the past year to reduce morbidity. However, given the recent increase in cases, several officials have once again put on the table the need to reimpose certain measures.

In this sense, Nachman Ash, the former pandemic chief who assumed the post of director general of the health ministry on Tuesday, said on Wednesday that the way forward is a combination of certain green card rules. and meeting limits.