A guard at the Knesset has tested positive for the omicron variant of the coronavirus, the Health Ministry said Thursday.
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Following contact tracing, 21 guards and Knesset staff members were instructed to go into isolation, including United Torah Judaism lawmaker Meir Porush. The guard was last present in the Knesset on Sunday.
Meanwhile, a girls’ school in Jerusalem had 62 students and two staff members test positive for the coronavirus. It was not yet clear whether any of the cases were of the omicron variant, the Education Ministry said, and the school has switched to remote learning.
On Wednesday, a statement from Defense Minister Benny Gantz said he was in quarantine after a member of his staff tested positive, and that his test will be sequenced given concern that the employee may be an omicron carrier.
Gantz will remain in isolation until the staff member’s sequencing results come back.
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Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tested negative for COVID-19 on Wednesday, after a passenger who traveled back to Israel from the United Arab Emirates with him was identified as a coronavirus carrier.
Bennett will take another PCR swab test on Wednesday, the Prime Minister’s Office said. He will quarantine for 72 hours, in accordance with Health Ministry protocol, taking a third test on Thursday.
