More than 70 percent of Israeli coronavirus samples sequenced in a Tel Aviv University study had genetic markers indicating the virus was imported from the U.S., despite the fact that only 27 percent of all positive-testing visitors to Israel arrived from America, The New York Times reports. Israel barred visitors from the U.S. on March 9, two weeks after shutting off travel from some European countries. Had Americans been blocked from entering on Feb. 26 also, the researcher conclude, "a substantial fraction of the transmission chains in Israel would have been prevented."
The researchers sequenced genomes from more than 200 randomly selected but representative COVID-19 patients from six hospital across the country. Israel has reportedly 16,650 COVID-19 cases and 277 deaths, but only 1 percent of the population has been infected with the coronavirus, said Dr. Adi Stern, lead author of the study, which has not yet been peer reviewed. At the same time, he added, Israel was able to cut its rate of transmission by two-thirds through a combination of enforced social distancing, stay-at-home orders, and closing down foreign tourism.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Film reviews: The Phoenician Scheme, Bring Her Back, and Jane Austen Wrecked My LifeFeature A despised mogul seeks a fresh triumph, orphaned siblings land with a nightmare foster mother, and a Jane fan finds herself in a love triangle
-
Music reviews: Tune-Yards and PinkPantheressFeature "Better Dreaming" and "Fancy That"
-
Withdrawing 529 plan funds for college? Here's what to know.the explainer Maximize the amount you have stashed away for your education
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sickspeed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last yearspeed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive orderspeed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measlesSpeed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study findsSpeed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influenceSpeed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreadsSpeed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows
