A woman receives her fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic in Rishon Lezion, Israel, on Jan. 3, 2022. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)
JERUSALEM, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned on Sunday that 2 million to 4 million Israelis are predicted to be infected with coronavirus during the current outbreak mainly caused by the highly infectious Omicron variant.
"Information presented at a cabinet meeting indicates that in Israel, overall 2-4 million citizens will be infected in the current wave," Bennett wrote on his Facebook page.
Addressing a wide public criticism of the government's complicated and frequently changing restrictions, Bennett explained that Omicron is "contiguous to an extent we did not know," saying the restrictions have been frequently updated to adapt to the fast spread of Omicron.
Bennett has led a policy based on keeping the economy open while aggressively promoting vaccination.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in Israel, with a population of 9.45 million, surpassed 1.5 million on Sunday, according to the latest figures issued by the country's health ministry. ■
