The rapid antigenic tests put in place by the government



Israel set up rapid antigen testing stations across the country on Sunday, in the face of an increase in coronavirus cases in recent weeks. “At the request of the Ministry of Health, Magen David Adom (MDA) opened 120 stations for rapid detection of the coronavirus on Sunday,” according to a statement from this Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross. The rapid test, intended in particular for people who have not been vaccinated and need a health pass or those cured of Covid, offers results in fifteen minutes.

Screening at these stations costs 52 shekels (about 17 euros) and allows you to obtain the health pass from the Ministry of Health, valid for 24 hours. Since this Sunday morning, unvaccinated people must take a test of less than twenty-four hours while the ministry has also announced to extend the health pass to children under 12 years old from August 20. Israel is trying to avoid further containment as the country has seen an increase in contamination in recent weeks.

Cases in people vaccinated more than six months ago

“Containment will be imposed as a last resort,” said Minister of Health Nitzan Horowitz in a statement, welcoming the launch of the rapid test. A country of nine million inhabitants, Israel was one of the first to launch a vast vaccination campaign in December, thanks to an agreement with the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. The deal gave the Jewish state quick access to millions of paid doses in exchange for biomedical data on the vaccine’s effects.

The campaign has made it possible to bring down the number of cases, but in recent weeks contamination has increased again with the spread of the more contagious variant Delta, in unvaccinated adults but also in people vaccinated more than six months ago. . On July 29, Israel launched a new campaign to provide a third booster dose to the elderly and reinstated the health pass.

Only people completely vaccinated, cured of Covid-19 or with a negative test are thus authorized to enter a place, indoors or outdoors, accommodating more than 100 people. In the past 24 hours, Israel has recorded 2,886 new cases. According to the latest official report, the country has recorded a total of 898,433 infections and 6,535 deaths since the start of the pandemic.



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