The number of new coronavirus infections in Israel has reached an all-time high since the beginning of the pandemic, with the prime minister saying an Omicron "storm" was intensifying.
Later on Wednesday, the Israeli Ministry of Health announced 12,554 new cases had been registered within 24 hours. The previous highest number was 11,345 on September 2, 2021.
In view of the wave of infections with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Israel began the fourth vaccination of people over 60 and medical personnel this week.
According to a study by the Shiba Hospital near Tel Aviv, the fourth vaccination dose with the BioNTech/Pfizer preparation increases the number of antibodies against Omicron fivefold within one week.
However the head of the study, Professor Gili Regev, told the Israeli news site ynet on Wednesday that the study's preliminary results showed "a certain increase in antibodies, but the increase is not very impressive."
Regev said she was glad that vulnerable groups such as the immunocompromised and the over-60s in Israel were already being given the fourth dose. "But I'm really not sure if it should be given to everyone now. We need more information."
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has warned that case numbers could rise to as many as 50,000 a day during the Omicron surge. "The Omicron storm is getting stronger," he said on Tuesday.
Only about 61 per cent of the 9.4 million Israelis are still considered vaccinated, which means twice-vaccinated people up to six months after their second vaccination and people with booster vaccinations.
Thirty per cent of the population is not vaccinated at all, and for 9 per cent the validity of the vaccination has already expired.
The Israeli government has relaxed the requirements for tests, because of an overloading of the PCR testing system. As of Friday, only high-risk groups and people over 60 years of age will have to take a PCR test after coming into contact with someone infected with the virus, according to the Ministry of Health. For all others, a rapid antigen test will suffice.
In general, vaccinated persons are exempt from quarantine if the test result is negative, while unvaccinated persons must be quarantined for at least seven days. In the case of a positive test result, ten days of quarantine apply.
