Despite Omicron fears, Israel’s Covid reproduction rate drops below 1

PA sends 100 Covid samples to Israel to test for Omicron variant; Bennett defends his wife's travels against government’s Omicron advice

Israel’s Covid reproduction rate drops below 1, despite Omicron fears (Times of Israel)
But many Israelis returning from abroad are failing to test properly, TV report says, meaning strain could yet gain a foothold in the country

Palestinian Authority sends 100 Covid samples to Israel to test for Omicron variant (Haaretz)|
Palestinian Health Minister says West Bank labs cannot test for the new Covid variant, which the PA suspects may be in the territory

Bennett defends wife's Omicron travels: ‘She knows how to manage herself’ (Jerusalem Post)
The Prime Minister said strongly at a press conference that he would not recommend travel only days before

‘Not every decision of ours is perfect’: Bennett responds to uproar over family trip (Times of Israel)
PM says he accepts criticism over wife taking kids on vacation days after he recommended against travelling, but defends Gilat as ‘most kindhearted person I know’