Coronavirus czar Nachman Ash, in a briefing with reporters, says 80 cases of the South African variant have been found in Israel.
“We’re working to locate every case,” he says.
Israeli health officials have expressed concern the South African variant may weaken the protection of the coronavirus vaccines.
Israel’s coronavirus czar Prof. Nachman Ash visits the Ziv hospital in Safed, December 24, 2020 (David Cohen/Flash90)
“As for the British mutation, we find it to be present in 70% of the positive tests,” he says.
Ash says the health authorities are “preparing for the end of the lockdown and are discussing how to open the education system and the economy.”
The senior official also condemns mass violations of the lockdown rules at two Jerusalem funerals on Sunday and urges police to bring the violators to justice.
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