In the shadow of the beginning of the decline in morbidity, the corona projector, Prof. Salman Zarka, held a press conference today (Monday) and said that so far 700 cases of the BA.2 variant have been discovered in the country.
He also called on those aged 60 and over to be vaccinated in the fourth dose and stressed that the hospitals in the country are not in danger of collapsing.
"We follow the BA2 variant mainly in the UK and Denmark," said Prof. Zarka.
"The name of the disease means that the wave of the omicron does not go down. We fear that the spread of BA2 in Israel will cause thousands of diseases for many weeks. The world picture shows that the disease is more contagious than the omicron, but the clinical picture is not more difficult.
"Among those aged 60 plus, there are more than 100,000 who have not yet received a third dose," Prof. Zarka noted.
"About 670,000 people received the fourth dose, which is about 40% of the population over the age of 60. I call on all people aged 60 and over and the population at risk - get vaccinated and protect yourself from a serious illness."
Zarqa added that he recommends initiating antigen tests before family events to protect fathers and mothers.
"The corona is here and will continue to be here for many months," he said.
"Hospitals not in danger of collapse"
Against the background of breaking records in the serious illness, Prof. Zarka said that "hospitals in Israel are not in danger of collapsing. I am monitoring the situation. There is more congestion in some places, but the health system continues to provide a solution."
"As the number of patients increases, the optimal response decreases."
The corona commissioner was asked whether additional medical and nursing staff would be provided as stipulated in the fourth wave and as demanded today by the Nurses' Federation.
"The health care system needs to be strengthened not just for this wave," said Prof. Zarka.
"The State of Israel deserves a strong health care system. It has been agreed to allocate 45 intensive care beds. We hope to announce this in the coming days - it will already help with this wave. The old summary belongs to the delta wave and is no longer relevant."
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