Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that the country is experiencing a "unprecedented" wave of the Covid-19 epidemic spurred by the new Omicron form.

"We're going to witness really high levels of illnesses, which we haven't seen in Israel before," Bennett told the state-owned Kan Bet Radio, according to the Xinhua reports. He went on to say that the Omicron form is "unusually infectious. We are on the verge of an infectious blizzard; it will happen and we will be powerless to stop it," the Prime Minister stated.

The comments came as the government imposed stricter limitations, including requiring large retailers to use the "green pass" scheme. Only persons who have been vaccinated are allowed to visit certain public places.

The fifth wave of the pandemic caused by the Omicron variant is apparently affecting Israel, a country with a population of 9.2 million people. According to the Health Ministry, Israel has reported 623 new Omicron cases in the last 24 hours. According to the government, the total number of Omicron cases in Israel presently stands at 1,741, with 1,004 of them being international passengers. Eight persons have been infected with Omicron, and one of them is in critical condition since he was not vaccinated, according to the report.

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