The emergence of a new coronavirus variant cannot stop the yearly planned event of Miss Universe.

Israel will still host the Miss Universe beauty pageant scheduled to hold on Dec 12 despite imposing travel restrictions in a bid to stave off the Omicron strain of the coronavirus, Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov said on Sunday.

He said participants in the contest, to be held in the Red Sea resort of Eilat, will be granted waivers from the curbs while possibly being subject to PCR testing every 48 hours and other precautionary measures.

Israel announced on Saturday it was banning the entry of foreigners into the country.

“This is an event that will be broadcast in 174 countries, a very important event, an event that Eilat, too, is very much in need of,” Razvozov told reporters.

“We will know how to manage this event. So, by using the waivers committee, we will have events like this, to which the country already committed itself and which we cannot cancel.”

In televised remarks at the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that Israel needs “to clamp down” on its borders to keep the country “open internally”.

Israel has confirmed one case of infection from the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Most of this year’s Miss Universe contestants have left their various countries to compete in the upcoming 70th Miss Universe pageant in Israel.

We wish them all the best!