A health pass from three years old!
This is what Israel decided to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
Faced with an increase in contamination in recent weeks linked to the spread of the Delta variant, the Hebrew state put in place on July 29 the health pass, called "green badge", which allows access to certain places to people who are fully vaccinated. , cured of Covid-19 or with a negative test.
On Wednesday, the Israeli government extended these measures to children aged 3 to 12. The country is thus among the first to impose a health pass on the youngest, these being in many countries spared. In France, for example, the health pass is now compulsory for everyone from the age of 18 to access places of leisure, culture or even health establishments. It is only from the end of September that this will be extended to over twelve years, the age from which it is possible to be vaccinated today.
Israel, which is trying to avoid a new lockdown, also set up rapid antigen testing stations across the country on Sunday, run by the Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service, and made quarantine mandatory for those returning. from most countries of the world, vaccinated or not.
Screening at these stations costs 52 shekels (about 17 euros) and allows you to obtain the health pass from the Ministry of Health, valid for 24 hours.
"It will be supported by the state for children from 3 to 12 years old from August 18, the date of entry into force of the measure," the Prime Minister's office said in a statement.
Open vaccination from 5 years old
A country of nine million inhabitants, Israel was one of the first to launch a vast vaccination campaign in December, thanks to an agreement with the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. The deal gave the Jewish state quick access to millions of paid doses in exchange for biomedical data on the vaccine's effects. At the end of July, Israel announced to extend vaccination to children aged 5 to 11 at risk.
The campaign has made it possible to bring down the number of cases, but in recent weeks contamination has increased again with the spread of the more contagious variant Delta, in unvaccinated adults but also in people vaccinated more than six months ago. . In the past 24 hours, Israel has recorded 5,802 new cases. According to the latest official report, the country has recorded a total of 918,237 infections and 6,587 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
