Israel detects cases of new Covid variant

Two people suffering from the infection are recovering well, health ministers say

Medics work at a Covid-19 ward in Israel. The country has recorded two cases of a new strain of coronavirus infection. AFP

A new Covid-19 variant has been detected in Israel, the country’s Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

The department said it was unaware of the strain having been identified elsewhere in the world.

The strain, a combination of two subvariants of Omicron, was detected in two passengers arriving at Ben Gurion Airport, near Lod.

The ministry said there was no reason to suggest the strain could cause more severe illness than the globally dominant Omicron variant.

"The two cases of the combined strain, which have been discovered so far, suffered from mild symptoms of fever, headaches and muscle dystrophy, and do not require a special medical response," Israel's Health Ministry said.

Israel's pandemic response chief, Salman Zarka, played down the risks.

"The phenomenon of combined variants is well known," Mr Zarka told Army Radio. "At this stage, we are not worried about it leading to serious cases."

More than four million of Israel's population of 9.2 million have received three coronavirus vaccine shots.

A total of almost 1.4 million cases of Covid-19 infection and 8,244 deaths have been officially recorded in the country.

• 

  Students wear protective masks in a classroom at a school where a number of cases of the Omicron variant have been detected, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Reuters

• 

  Sarah Santos Costa gets vaccinated in Sao Paulo. Getty Images

• 

  Deemah Al Sofyani, a pharmacist, prepares a Covid-19 vaccine does in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Reuters

• 

  A health worker collects a swab sample from a child to test for Covid-19 at a hospital in Kolkata. AFP

• 

  Pupils queue for a Covid-19 vaccine shot at Chogle High School in Borivali, Mumbai. India recorded 7,743 Omicron variant cases in the past 24 hours. EPA

• 

  Yodit Ben Ari, 89, receives a fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine at a retirement home in Netanya after Israel approved a second booster shot for the immunocompromised, people over 60 and medical staff. Reuters

• 

  A health worker tests school pupils for Covid-19 during a surge in cases of Omicron in Karachi, Pakistan. The country has recorded more than 4,000 coronavirus cases for the second consecutive day. EPA

• 

  A man sits and waits after receiving a Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 booster vaccine in Jakarta, Indonesia. EPA

• 

  Employees work on the assembly line to produce self-testing kits at the NG Biotech factory in Guipry-Messac as France experiences a surge in Covid-19 cases due to the Omicron variant. Reuters

• 

  Lucas Sudo receives a dose of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine as part of the first group of children under 12 to be immunised against Covid-19 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Getty Images

• 

  An injured 41-year-old man is pushed into the emergency ward at the main city hospital in Innsbruck, Austria. Fewer patients than usual were arriving due to a 10pm curfew as a precaution against the spread of the Omicron variant. Getty Images

• 

  A boy is tested for Covid-19 at a drive-through site in Jerusalem. Reuters

• 

  Even the statues are masked in Tokyo's Ginza district, as Japan reported a record high of new Covid-19 infections fuelled by the Omicron variant. AFP

• 

  A health worker draws up a dose of a Covid-19 shot at a drive-through vaccination centre outside Ewood Park, Blackburn Rovers FC's ground, in north-west England. AFP

• 

  A woman receives a booster shot in Taipei, Taiwan. Reuters

• 

  Testing schoolchildren in Karachi. EPA

• 

  A weekly food distribution project in a Brooklyn community in New York City provides between 500 to 600 people with fresh vegetables, fruit and other items. More than 13. 8 million US households were described as food insecure in 2020. Inflation and job insecurity due to the coronavirus pandemic have contributed to the issue. AFP

• 

  A testing centre in Saint-Hilaire-de-Loulay near Nantes, France. Reuters

Last month, Israel announced that unvaccinated tourists would be allowed to enter as part of an easing of restrictions.

The country was seeing a "consistent decline in morbidity data", Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said.

A previous effort to reopen Israel's borders foundered in November after only a few weeks because of the fast spread of the Omicron variant.

Israel was one of the first countries to launch a national vaccination campaign, doing so in December 2020.

The government this month announced it would provide fourth Covid-19 vaccine shots to people over 60 and health workers, amid a surge driven by the Omicron variant.