Israel is once more starting to see the infection rate rise. With the number of people now infected with the coronavirus higher than it was in October, the country has taken steps to help curtail the spread of the virus.
Unfortunately for the nation's airline industry, this has meant a flight ban to numerous countries where people infected with COVID-19 remains high. Currently, the Omicron variant is ringing alarm bells due to the rate at which it is spreading. First discovered in South Africa, it is now running rampant in Europe and will soon overtake the Delta variant.
The Omicron variant spreads quickly
While believed to be not as deadly as other strains of COVID-19, its ability to spread quickly and infect many people has governments worried about their health systems. It is not just the number of people who may need hospitalization they are worried about but a lack of healthcare workers who are also becoming infected.
With Israel now adding the United Kingdom and the United States to its list of red countries, the national flag carrier of Israel, El Al, is devastated. Just last month, the Ben Gurion Airport (TLV)-based airline announced a third-quarter loss of $136 million, representing a 69% drop in revenue compared to the previous quarter.
We will have to live with the virus
When speaking about the decline in revenue and how El Al planned to cope in the coming month's Deputy Director of International Affairs at El Al Stanley Morais told i24NEWS :
"We didn't expect this situation, especially at this time of year. We expected a big flow of tourists coming in, Jewish communities from abroad as well as Chrisitan communities," Morais said.
Even though it is impossible to keep up with regulations regarding the pandemic, Morais stressed that El Al is focused more on customers than it is on government regulations.
"We are maintaining our flights to non-red countries here from Israel… And even flights to countries that are red, like the United States, we are maintaining our flights to New York, London, Paris."
"We think we have to live alongside Covid," Morais urged.
"Whatever variant it is, we have to find ways… in all realms in our lives, especially with international travel."
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Omicron is weak compared to other variants
After only weeks of opening up to visitors from overseas, Israel closed its borders again to international travel after the Omicron strain was discovered in South Africa. On Monday, the Israeli Health Ministry reported 826 cases of Omicron, of which 480 were people who had arrived from abroad. More than half of these cases were fully vaccinated people.
Starting next Sunday, Israel planned to give a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine to people over 60 but has now decided to wait. The decision was made following data from the United Kingdom that suggested Omicron was less severe than previous strains. Britain's public health agency said Thursday that people infected with Omicron were 50% to 70% less likely to need hospitalization when compared with the Delta variant.
What do you think about all these travel bans, and is Morais right when he says we will just have to find a way to live with this virus? Please tell us what you think in the comments.