• Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

Health Ministry Advises to Postpone Tourism Pilot Until June

Apr 26, 2021

The Health Ministry has announced that it will be passing on its recommendation to the government to postpone the pilot that is all set to allow vaccinated tourists into the country. Given that these tourists are traveling in groups, it has been decided that they can enter the State of Israel. However, experts at the Health Ministry believe that this decision should be postponed until June.

Moreover, the health authorities have declared that they will be seeking a restriction to be placed on travel from countries considered to be high-risk ones. These include South Africa, India, Ukraine, Turkey, Ethiopia, Mexico, and Brazil. 

The Ministry further announced that it will soon be presenting its recommendations to the government in order to obtain its approval. 

As per the new measures, all countries across the globe are to be categorized into two distinct groups.  

This will allow the current regulations to be applied to countries classified to be on Level-1. On the other hand, countries with high morbidity will consequently fall on Level 2. A new set of rules will be introduced for these countries. 

Moreover, Israelis will also not be permitted to travel to those countries with high morbidity, unless the circumstances deem it necessary. In connection to this, people who have arrived in Israel following their visits to countries classified as Level-2 will be required to isolate themselves immediately. This rule, however, will extend to only those whose arrival has been within the last 14 days. It also applies to everyone, irrespective of whether they have been vaccinated or recovered from the deadly disease. 

Foreigners who have traveled to the State of Israel from these countries will be required to quarantine themselves in a state-run facility that has been designated for this purpose. 

The list of countries categorized as Level-2 consists of all those against whom the government of Israel issues a warning just last week. This list will be edited and updated after every two weeks on the basis of a handful of factors. The most important factor, which will determine the category that the country will be placed in, is the presence of deadly mutations of the coronavirus. In addition, the Health Ministry will also be monitoring the number of people entering Israel from these countries. 

This procedure is very much like the one that was used back in January, when traveling was completely banned and countries were divided into two categories namely, green and red. 

Furthermore, the Health Ministry is also going to suggest that the State of Israel postpone the inbound tourism project as well, which was supposed to start on the 23rd of May, by at least a month. 

As per the outline that has been presented by the Tourism Ministry and the Health Ministry earlier in the month, tourists who have been vaccinated will have to provide proof of a negative PCR test. This will be presented before they can board a flight. Upon their arrival, they will have to take another PCR test, along with a serological test to show that they have antibodies. 

The first phase will allow only those tourists to enter the country who are traveling in groups.

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