800 Israelis Returned From Countries Where Omicron Was Detected

Approximately 800 Israelis recently returned from travel to countries where the new and highly contagious variant of the coronavirus was detected, a senior official said on Saturday.

Israel's Deputy Defense Minister Alon Schuster said that the Home Front Command is "trying to locate and account for" some 800 people who traveled to states where the omicron strain of the coronavirus was found, including several African states. 

"The new variant that was discovered is worrying and it may be more contagious than its predecessors. Thus we prepared for it swiftly," said Schuster, adding that Home Front Command's aim was to interrupt any potential "contagion chains."

The World Health Organization on Friday termed omicron a "variant of concern" and said it was likely more transmissible than the dominant delta strain.