Edelstein says airport should be closed to stop new strain of virus from spreading
Adir Yanko, Atilla Somfalvi |
Published: 12.20.20 , 09:29
Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said on Sunday that he hoped the government will decide to close down Israeli international airports after health officials voiced concern over the spread of the new strain of coronavirus detected in the UK, Australia, South Africa and Denmark. We must protect our borders. The priority must be safety and steps we can take now may come too late if we wait, he said.
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U.K. Virus ‘Out of Control’; Cuomo Warns of Spread: Virus Update
Bloomberg 12/20/2020
More than 16 million Britons are required to stay at home as a full lockdown came into force Sunday in London and southeast England, part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s effort to contain an “out of control” mutation of the coronavirus. The U.K. reported the most Covid-19 infections since the start of the pandemic.
European countries responded by suspending travel links. The U.S. doesn’t need to take that step for now, a member of the White House virus task force said, but Governor Andrew Cuomo expressed concern that untested passengers from the U.K. could be carrying the mutation to New York.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was vaccinated against the novel coronavirus on a live television broadcast. Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein received the shot at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, reports Xinhua news agency. Netanyahu was the first Israeli to receive the vaccine, hours before a major roll-out of the vaccinations was to begin in the country. This is a great day, Netanyahu told reporters at the center. I believe in this vaccine and I am doing this to serve as a role model and encourage people to get vaccinated, he added. First in line to be inoculated starting on Sunday will be medical staff, the elderly and people with high-risk factors.
Amos Ben Gershom/GPO
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu together with Health Minister Yuli Edelstein received the first doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine in Israel last night at the close of the Shabbat. The event was streamed live as part of the government’s efforts to encourage the public to get vaccinated.
“It’s a small shot for a person and a huge step toward the health of us all,” the prime minister said.
Watch Netanyahu get the shot
“This is a very big day for the State of Israel,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said as he was about to receive the vaccine. “We have been experiencing over the past year the worst pandemic that humanity has known in the last 100 years and this is the beginning of the exit. We have brought millions of vaccines to our little State of Israel and everyone needs to be vaccinated. I asked to be vaccinated first with Minister Edelstein to set a personal example.”