In a televised interview, the head of the Parliamentary Health Committee, MP Assem Araji, said that “the Omicron mutant spreads faster than the Delta mutant, and it has 32 mutations and decreases the impact of immunizations,” but that “the vaccine still protects against admittance to emergency care.”

“We have 916 intensive care beds, an occupancy rate of 80%, and COVID-19 departments in a number of hospitals are closed,” he said, adding that “if the infection cases increase after the New Year, we will be facing a severe health crisis.”

“We’re trying our best not to resort to a lockdown because the economic situation is very severe,” Araji concluded.