Senior officials from the Ministry of Health are currently (Wednesday) holding a first discussion on the abolition of the obligation to perform corona tests at the entrance to Ben Gurion Airport.
Earlier this week a senior health ministry official said: "It is clear that the tests can not be held for long. One has to think about the alternative to these tests. It does not make sense to continue with them if most countries cancel them."
Busy days at Ben Gurion Airport. Will you fly without tests? Photo: Yossi Zeliger
Meanwhile, a report by the Corona National Center for Combat Knowledge reviewed the world situation regarding border checks. Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Singapore and Thailand (where this obligation will be abolished for the vaccinated starting in May).
In other countries like France, Spain, India, Canada and more a sample test of the incoming passengers is done.
The Knowledge and Information Center report warns against the penetration of variants: "It is likely that due to the consequences of changes in disease monitoring policy, mask removal and ahead of the Northern Hemisphere tourist season, more favorable ground will be created for rapid worldwide spread of new variants."
The report of the Knowledge and Information Center also refers to the fact that in recent days the coefficient of infection has increased slightly and reached 0.9, yet there are about 20 new patients in a serious condition per day, about 2-1 deaths per day and the daily verified average is about 3,700 - low numbers Compared to the peak of the omicron wave, experts note that "there is a latent morbidity on a significant scale so that in practice the number of infections is much higher especially after Passover where gatherings and events are extensive."
Nitzan Horowitz.
What will the Ministry of Health decide ?, Photo: Gideon Markovich
They also point out that the low volume of tests (about 26,000 tests on average weekly, without the results of those returning from abroad) "makes it difficult to identify and understand morbidity trends."
In light of the discovery of four new BA4 variants in Israel and two BA.5 variants, the Knowledge and Information Center notes that at this stage it is still unclear what their advantage is over the BA2 variant, which currently accounts for over 90% of the disease worldwide.
We further noted that in Africa the new variants "are gaining dominance at the expense of variant BA2" and that they have also been detected in the US, Australia and a number of European countries.
"There is a possibility that these variants have an advantage over 2.BA, resulting from a higher adhesion capacity or a higher immune bypass capacity," the report noted.
"At this stage, no laboratory studies or clinical evidence on the subject have been published, but these are expected to be published in the coming weeks.
The Minister of Health, Nitzan Horowitz, addressed the issue of tests at Ben Gurion Airport yesterday at a press conference: "My personal position is based on the position of the professionals.
Only in recent days have we identified a new variant.
If there seems to be no need we will let you know.
We do not just leave things that are not valid, as they have abolished the obligation to wear masks. "
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