90% of recent COVID infections in Israel are Omicron, claims new report

9 January 2022, 9:10 pm

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A man gets a PCR coronavirus test at a private nursing home in Netanya, Israel, January 5, 2022. (Ariel Schalit/AP)

About 90 percent of those who have tested positive for COVID in Israel in recent days have been infected with the Omicron variant, reports the Kan public broadcaster.

According to the report, the figures are based on statistics gathered by the Leumit health care provider.

Israel confirmed its first case of the ultra-contagious Omicron variant in late November. As of the last week of December, the Health Ministry confirmed 1,741 cases of Omicron, but since then stopped updating, as it became clear that the variant was becoming the dominant strain.

There are currently 117,860 active COVID cases in Israel, with more than 99,000 of them confirmed over the past week.