Unknown COVID-19 Variant Discovered In Israel; Strain 'Not Yet Known To The World'

A previously unknown COVID-19 variant has been detected in Israel, the nation's health officials announced Wednesday.

Two cases of the new variant, which is said to be a combination of omicron's BA.1 and BA.2 subvariants, were found in a couple who underwent a PCR test upon landing at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel, the country's Ministry of Health (MoH) said, according to newspaper Haaretz.

The two cases were not named, but they were described as a couple in their 30s who had just returned from abroad.

Authorities also did not disclose when they detected the new variant, which was "still unknown around the world," according to the MoH.

The couple contracted the new variant from their infant son, claimed Dr. Salman Zarka, the head of Israel's COVID-19 program.

Zarka claimed a "young woman" had infected the couple and their child, The Times of Israel reported.

"It’s likely that they were infected before boarding the flight in Israel. The variant could have emerged here," the doctor said.

The two infected experienced "light" symptoms such as fever and headaches and did not require specialized medical care, according to the MoH.

Despite the discovery of the new variant, Zarka was reportedly not concerned about it leading to serious cases.

"The phenomenon of combined variants is well known," the doctor said.

Zarka explained that when there are two viruses in the same cell and it multiplies, "they exchange genetic material, creating a new virus."

Another new coronavirus variant, a hybrid of delta and omicron, was detected in swab samples that were sequenced in labs, Israeli broadcaster Kan reported Monday.

A limited number of cases were detected among people who returned from Europe, and there was still no community spread at the time of the report.

There were 35,557 active COVID-19 cases in Israel as of Wednesday morning, with the country confirming 6,310 new cases the day before. A total of 789 among the active cases were hospitalized, while 335 were in serious condition and 151 were on ventilators.

Overall, Israel has reported 3,733,319 coronavirus cases and 10,401 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to data provided by the World Health Organization.

Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett ordered Wednesday that the mask policy be continued in closed spaces amid a global surge in COVID-19 cases.

Additionally, the prime minister said Israel should maintain vaccine supplies in case of a dangerous variant appearing and encouraged the public to get vaccinated with three doses.