Israel Bans Travel to U.S. Hours After Omicron-Filled Flight From Miami

Israel has announced a ban on travel to the United States hours after multiple passengers on a flight from Miami were found to have been carrying the heavily mutated Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The ban, which will go into effect Tuesday, will prohibit Israelis from flying to the U.S. unless they obtain permission from a special committee. According to Haaretz, the ban was announced just hours after 10 percent of passengers on a flight from Miami tested positive for COVID-19, with most of them suspected of carrying the Omicron variant. Israel has recorded 134 confirmed Omicron cases and an additional 307 suspected cases so far, but Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned during a televised address Sunday night that case numbers are set to soar over the coming weeks.