Israel mandates Covid tests for kids as young as three

The tests will required if children wants to enter schools, swimming pools, hotels or gyms as infections from the Delta variant surge.

Israeli medics tend a Covid-19 patient at the Ziv Medical Centre in the city of Safed on Thursday. Picture: AFP

Israel is to require Covid-19 tests from next week for children as young as three to enter schools, swimming pools, hotels or gyms, as infections from the Delta variant surge despite extensive adult vaccinations.

Israel already required children aged 12 and over to show a green pass, reintroduced late last month showing a person’s vaccination and testing status and whether they had recovered from Covid.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said from next Wednesday the state would fund unlimited tests for children aged three to 11.

The Magen David Adom emergency service said it had opened 120 rapid antigen testing centres nationwide. Screening at these stations costs 52 shekels ($22) and allows those tested to obtain a green pass valid for 24 hours.

Late on Thursday, Mr Bennett announced that Israel was also lowering the age limit for its campaign of booster vaccinations from 60 to 50 years old.

“The campaign to vaccinate the population aged 60 and over is a great success … It is an important step in the fight against the Delta variant and I now call on everyone over the age of 50 to come line up tomorrow (Friday) morning to get vaccinated,” the Israeli Prime Minister said

The booster vaccinations offered by Israel and some other countries have drawn criticism from the World Health Organisation, which has said the global priority should be providing the standard inoculation to all.

The US on Friday authorised an extra dose of vaccine for people with weakened immune systems, as the country too struggles to thwart the Delta variant.

Emergency use authorisation for a third injection of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines was granted by the US Food and Drug Administration.

“The country has entered yet another wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the FDA is especially cognisant that immunocompromised people are particularly at risk for severe disease,” said acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock

The FDA said the additional dose was for solid organ transplant recipients or those with equivalent weakened immune systems. Some US media reports suggest that one million Americans may have had unauthorised third doses in an attempt to increase protection against Covid.

Israel has also announced mandatory quarantine for travellers, vaccinated or not, arriving from most countries of the world beginning on Monday.

A country of nine million inhabitants, Israel was one of the first to launch a nationwide vaccination campaign in December, thanks to an agreement with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.

The deal gave Israel quick access to millions of shots in exchange for medical data on the vaccine’s effects.

The campaign saw infection rates plummet, which allowed Israel to resume an almost normal routine, with schools, bars and concert venues open. However, the more contagious Delta variant has driven a rise in cases to levels not seen since February. The Health Ministry said on Thursday it had recorded 5946 new cases the previous day. In total, it has counted 921,083 cases and 6593 deaths since the pandemic started early last year.

Health officials are warning that Israel could face a fourth lockdown during the Jewish holiday season in September if the country doesn’t deliver more booster shots and improve on its wider vaccination rate; 60 per cent of the total population are fully vaccinated, making up around 80 per cent of adults.

Though the number of severe cases remains low, the rate of growth has raised concerns. Hospitals are preparing for an influx of patients similar to the early days of the pandemic.

AFP