The coronavirus infection rate reached a new height on Wednesday with 16,115 Israelis testing positive for the disease, according to Health Ministry data.
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Altogether, 206,258 people were screened for the virus in the past 24 hours, which puts the infection rate at 7.89%. The reproduction rate, which refers to the number of people each confirmed carrier infects, stands at 1.99.
There are 72,034 active cases in the country with 307 patients hospitalized. Of those, 134 are in serious condition.
Israel has reported 1,440,771 cases, including 8,253 deaths, since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020. The Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba reported the deaths of two six-year-olds of COVID on Wednesday, both of whom had pre-existing medical conditions.
Thus far, 4,295,564 Israelis have been vaccinated with the booster, 5,947,682 got two jabs and 6,604,512 received one dose.
As for the fourth vaccine shot, President Isaac Herzog, 61, and wife Michal, 60, were jabbed on Wednesday as part of an event launching the national campaign.
"Omicron is spreading throughout Israel and may reach every house in Israel," Herzog said. "There is no other choice – go out and get vaccinated!"
The couple received the second booster (fourth dose overall) at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Sunday that Israel would make the fourth dose available to people over 60 and healthcare workers. Last week, the dose was already approved for the immunocompromised and those living in elderly care facilities.
Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash, 60, received the fourth dose on Tuesday morning, calling on the public to get vaccinated as the best defense against the disease.
Also on Tuesday, Bennett announced that the fourth dose offers a fivefold increase in antibodies a week after the shot is administered, citing the results of a recent study conducted at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan.
The prime minister said that results from the study show that the fourth dose is as safe as the third and that the antibodies indicate "a very high likelihood that the fourth jab will protect vaccinated people to a great degree."
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry released updated rules on coronavirus self-isolation and testing procedures, set to enter force on Jan. 7.
As per the new regulations, fully vaccinated people younger than 60 who come into contact with a confirmed COVID carrier will now be able to take an at-home antigen test to determine whether they need to quarantine.
If the rapid antigen test is negative, then no quarantine is required. If it is positive, the person will be required to take a second rapid test administered at an approved Health Ministry site or clinic.
If the second test comes back positive, the person will need to self-isolate for 10 days, to be exited with a doctor's approval.
These new policy shifts aim to reserve PCR tests for the most vulnerable populations, namely Israelis over the age of 60 and the immunocompromised.
"The guiding principle here is protecting high-risk groups," Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz announced during a press conference on Wednesday.
Whereas, vaccinated Israelis over the age of 60 and other vulnerable groups will need to take a PCR test if exposed to a confirmed COVID carrier.
If the PCR test indicates infection, a 10-day quarantine is mandatory, which can be exited with approval from a doctor. No quarantine is required if the test is negative.
The unvaccinated and at-risk must enter a 7-day quarantine regardless of test results – a positive test extends this period to 10 days, which can be exited with a doctor's note. A second negative test on the last day releases a patient from isolation.
This process is the same for all unvaccinated individuals, but with antigen tests administered at health clinics instead of PCR tests.
In related news, Britain and other governments are also overhauling coronavirus testing policies in an effort to reduce the burden on laboratories and struggle with tight supplies of kits amid soaring infection rates fueled by the Omicron variant.
This time last year, vaccines offered hope that the pandemic could be over by now. But Omicron has brought new challenges, including overloading public health systems, even if – as many scientists say – it leads to less severe illness than the earlier Delta variant.
Demand for testing kits has squeezed supply. Last week, queues formed outside pharmacies in Spain's capital Madrid in what has become a common scene since Omicron began driving up infections. Madrid, whose conservative government has put supporting the hospitality sector at the top of its agenda, is opting for increased testing and no restrictions on socializing.
A surge in demand for tests has led to issues in Italy and Britain. The UK Health Security Agency said that 100,000 more PCR booking slots per day had been made available since mid-December and that capacity had been doubled to 900,000 PCR and LFD (lateral flow devise) test kits a day.
People in England who test positive for COVID-19 on rapid lateral flow device tests will not need to confirm their results with a follow-up PCR test if they are not showing symptoms, the UKHSA said on Wednesday.
A record-high one in 15 people had COVID-19 in England in the week ending Dec. 31, estimates published by the Office for National Statistics showed on Wednesday.
"While cases of COVID continue to rise, this tried-and-tested approach means that LFDs can be used confidently to indicate COVID-19 infection without the need for PCR confirmation," Dr. Jenny Harries, the agency's chief executive, said.
PCR tests are processed in a lab and can be used to determine which variant a person has, while an LFD can be used at home and gives an indication of infectivity within half an hour.
Virologists and experts said the move was logical given the incredibly high infection rates as long as LFD supplies were sufficient as they identify the majority of people who are at their most infectious and need to isolate.
"There is really no need to confirm [a positive LFD test] with a PCR, a step that not only wastes time but costs a lot of money and uses up laboratory resources that could be better used elsewhere," said John Edmunds, a professor of mathematical modeling of infectious diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
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But the authorities will have less data about the spread of different variants as PCR swabs are used for genotyping and sequencing.
The United States reported nearly a million new coronavirus infections on Monday, the highest daily tally of any country in the world and nearly double the previous US peak set a week earlier.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday backed its week-old guidance for people seeking to end their COVID-19 isolation at five days, adding they could take a rapid antigen test if they want to and can access one, but it is not a requirement.
The agency had been pressured by health experts to institute a test requirement after it cut in half its guidance last week for people to isolate after a COVID-19 infection to five days from 10.
Spain, Portugal, and Britain have also slashed the mandatory isolation period for people who test positive for COVID-19 amid fears that lengthy quarantines could paralyze economies.
Ireland will drop its requirement for vaccinated arrivals to have proof of a negative COVID-19 test and return to seeking proof of vaccination or recent infection upon entry, Prime Minister Micheál Martin said.
Nearly 294 million people have been reported to be infected by the coronavirus globally and more than 5.8 million have died, according to a Reuters tally.
Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in central China in December 2019.
A "supersonic" rise in French COVID-19 infections is set to continue in the coming days and there are no signs of the trend reversing, a government spokesman said on Wednesday.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
