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Jerusalem (AFP)
Israel’s Health Ministry said on Saturday that four people tested positive for the new strain of coronavirus first detected in South Africa, with the new British variant already registered.
The cases were discovered after testing travelers arriving from South Africa.
The two new strains are more infectious than previous variants of the virus.
Amid a surge in cases, Israel reimposed a national blockade last month. On Friday he tightened restrictions further as the number of daily cases remained high.
Israel has launched a nationwide vaccination program and more than 70 percent of Israelis over the age of 60 have received a first dose, with 1.7 million injections administered, according to the Health Ministry.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who received his second blow on Saturday, said in a short statement on Israeli television that all Israelis could be vaccinated within two months and “no later than the end of March.”
Netanyahu announced Thursday that he had signed an agreement for sufficient doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for all Israelis over the age of 16 to be inoculated.
Israel, with a population of nine million, has recorded more than 3,600 deaths from the Covid-19 disease.
© 2021 AFP
