To contain the Omicron strain, Israel enacts the world's harshest bans. <br /><br />All foreigners have been barred from entering Israel, and intelligence services have been entrusted with discovering and tracking all recent arrivals from hotspots of the newly revealed Omicron coronavirus type. <br /><br />Following an emergency meeting of the Corona Cabinet, the new measures are due to take effect on Sunday night, making Israel the first country to totally close its borders to foreign nationals for at least 14 days. Only those who have been approved by an "Exceptions Committee" will be allowed to enter. <br /><br />Thanks to the conclusions that were formulated following the 'Omega' national drill, which simulated various scenarios regarding the appearance of new variants, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, referring to a national drill conducted just two weeks ago to assess Israel's preparedness for an outbreak of a potential unknown new strain of COVID-19. <br /><br />All Israeli citizens returning from abroad – even those who have received two doses of the vaccine and a booster – will be required to be quarantined for at least three days, while those arriving from "red" states will be required to stay in military-run hotels until they have tested negative for the virus twice. <br /><br />Those who had visited an African country in the previous week were invited to take a test and voluntarily isolate themselves while the internal security agency Shin Bet was tasked with monitoring compliance via cell phone tracking. <br /><br />The contentious contact-tracing program was first utilized during the outbreak of the original COVID-19 virus in 2020, but the High Court of Justice has since pronounced it "no longer justified."The stringent restrictions were taken after Israel discovered a single confirmed case and seven suspected cases of the new variety B.1.1.529, which was initially detected in Botswana earlier this month. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognized the new strain of Omicron as a "variant of concern" during an emergency meeting on Friday. <br /><br />Fears of the Omicron variant quickly prompted global travel prohibitions, with an increasing number of countries prohibiting flights from South Africa and several of its bordering countries. While little is known about the variation at this time, scientists throughout the world have already raised concerns about its numerous mutations and infection risk. According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, the strain poses a "high to very high" risk, and there is high to very high about its transmissibility, vaccination effectiveness, risk of reinfections, and other characteristics. <br /><br />Thanks for watching. Please consider subscribing to the channel<br /><br />#podcast #Omicron #Israel<br />...<br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETmnZj1OPvw" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETmnZj1OPvw</a>