Miss Universe contestant in Israel has COVID-19

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Travelers walk with their luggage in the Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. Israel on Sunday approved barring entry to foreign nationals and the use of controversial technology for contact tracing as part of its efforts to clamp down on a new coronavirus variant. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

JERUSALEM – Organizers of next month's Miss Universe pageant say one of the contestants has tested positive for COVID-19.

It was not immediately clear if she had tested positive for the newly detected omicron variant. Israeli authorities have said they will go ahead with holding the pageant in the southern city of Eilat in December despite the rapidly spreading new variant.

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The Miss Universe Organization, which is organizing the pageant, did not identify the contestant who tested positive or her nationality. It said Monday that she tested positive upon arrival in Israel and was taken to a government-run isolation hotel.

It said she was fully vaccinated and tested prior to departure. The organizers said most of the 80 contestants have arrived in Israel.


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