Person on Israeli PM’s Flight From UAE Tests Positive for COVID-19

An unnamed person who was on Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s return flight from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv tested positive for COVID-19, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Tuesday. Bennett flew to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, returning Monday after a historic first visit to the Gulf Arab state by an Israeli head of government. Israel and the UAE opened formal diplomatic relations with the signing of the Abraham Accords in August 2020. Bennett will quarantine for three days and then take a coronavirus test on Wednesday, in accordance with Health Ministry regulations. Bennett’s entourage for the UAE trip was significantly reduced at the last minute due to concerns over the omicron variant. Israel has shut its borders to foreign tourists, barred Israelis from traveling to sub-Saharan Africa, and imposed new self-quarantine requirements for returning travelers in an effort to keep the variant out of the country. On Monday, it reported 800 new coronavirus cases. Over the past two weeks, about 93% of sequenced cases were found to be of the delta variant, with the omicron variant comprising about 2.4% of current cases.