The Health Ministry reported Friday morning that of the 105,198 Israelis it screened for the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, 838 tested positive. The infection rate stands at 0.89%. There are currently 6,542 active cases in the country with 125 patients hospitalized. Of those, 79 are in serious condition.
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Israel has reported 1,353,689 cases, including 8,230 deaths, since the outbreak of the pandemic last year.
Thus far, 4,147,339 Israelis have been fully vaccinated, 5,815,500 received two doses, and 6,438,561 got one jab.
Meanwhile, an infection outbreak was reported in Jerusalem's Evelyn de Rothschild girls' school, where 62 students tested positive for the coronavirus. The school has been temporarily shut down and students switched to online learning.
Some reports suggested that the outbreak was caused by an Israeli family returning from South Africa – where Omicron was first detected – who violated mandatory self-isolation.
The IDF Home Front Command said that the family was supposed to quarantine for seven days upon arrival after their coronavirus tests at Ben-Gurion International Airport came back negative. Nevertheless, the children were sent to school. On the fifth day of the self-isolation, the family tested positive for Omicron, yet the kids continued to attend studies anyway. The family was also visited by the grandmother, who works at an educational institution, and who later tested positive for the new strain as well. The father of the family attended synagogue.
Thus far, looking into the transmission chain, the Home Front Command reported seven verified Omicron cases, with 16 more Omicron cases suspected.
The Jerusalem Municipality said that "as far as is known" the outbreak at the Evelyn de Rothschild school "is not Omicron. Following the outbreak and based on the district doctor's advice, the school switched to learning from home. On Saturday evening, there will be another assessment of the situation, at the end of which we will issue instructions with regard to next week."
In related news, the new mandatory self-isolation guidelines for Israelis returning from abroad came into effect on Friday morning.
Unvaccinated Israelis returning from a country on the government's no-fly list – so-called "red" countries – will be required to take a coronavirus test at Ben-Gurion Airport and self-isolate at a state-run hotel. After signing an agreement promising to self-isolate they will receive their test results, and if negative, will be able to quarantine for the remaining seven days at home. If positive, they will be required to quarantine at the state-run hotel for the entire week. Another coronavirus test will be required at the end of the isolation period.
Vaccinated Israelis and those who recovered from COVID will be able to self-isolate at home for seven adys immediately after taking a test at Ben-Gurion Airport and signing the agreement. Another coronavirus test will be required at the end of the isolation period.
Vaccinated Israelis and recovered COVID patients who return from "orange" countries will also be required to perform a test upon arrival, self-isolate for three days, take another PCR test at the end of the period, and exit quarantine if it comes back negative.
The Health Ministry said last week that it will update the no-fly list every 24 hours or so depending on the coronavirus morbidity in other countries. Currently, there are 51 "red" countries and 163 "orange" countries.
Before returning to Israel, travelers will also need to take a PCR at a recognized facility 72 hours before their flight or an antigen test 24 hours before departure. Every passenger is required to fill out a form 24 hours before returning to Israel. Israelis who recovered from COVID in the last three months or those who spend less than 72 hours abroad are not required to present coronavirus test results.
Foreigners will not be allowed to enter Israel at least until Dec. 29, except for a few exceptions approved by the Population and Immigration Authority.
Public transportation is available to Ben-Gurion Airport, but leaving the site is only possible via private vehicles and taxis.
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In the meantime, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported on Thursday that it detected three cases of Omicron in the West Bank.
Kamal al-Shakhrah, a spokesperson for the ministry, explained all of the cases were discovered in people returning to the West Bank after traveling abroad.
The Omicron patients are residents of Ramallah, Hebron, and Tubas, according to Middle East Eye.
Data published by the ministry on Thursday showed that less than 140,000 Palestinians are fully vaccinated with a booster shot.
The Palestinian territories face an average of 322 daily COVID infections, according to statistics from Reuters, and 4,858 COVID-related deaths occurred in the region since the beginning of the pandemic.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
