Health Minister Wolfgang Mueckstein says 'law is urgently needed right now' amid surging Omicron wave; 72% of population fully vaccinated

Starting next Thursday, students to take antigen tests twice a week at home and present negative results when going to school; PM says 'millions' of home tests to be handed out

Hana Horka, vocalist for folk band, chose to get infected from vaccinated relatives in order to gain access to sauna and theater, says her son

Health Ministry-led research also shows teens who got booster shot over four months ago only slightly better off than unvaccinated; hospitalizations among kids reportedly on rise

Lawmakers from PM's party push for no-confidence vote, following revelations of several government parties during COVID-19 lockdowns

7-day average of new daily cases peaked at around 890,000 on January 13, with drops most pronounced in states hit first by the wave

Close to 150,000 children are out of school with coronavirus infections, while more than 1,200 doctors and 2,540 nurses are missing work after testing positive

‘It’s not bringing down the hospital to point we can’t function but it does make it very hard,’ says director-general; nationally 7,716 health employees in isolation

Serious cases still rising but expert says Israel may be at wave's peak with tens of thousands of undetected daily infections; finance, culture ministers announce aid for art world

Foundation cites Jewish executive's leadership, willingness to take risks in order to produce vaccine as quickly as possible; will donate money to Holocaust education