The Israeli government have announced changes to travel restrictions into the country, placing both the UK and Denmark on their travel red list out of concern over the spread of the Omicron variant.

Sharon Alroy-Preis, Director of public health, told a news conference that from Wednesday, Israeli citizens would be forbidden from travelling to the UK.

According to the Israeli ministry of health's website: "Leaving Israel to a country on the red list is banned for Israeli citizens and permanent residents unless they get permission from the Exceptions Committee.

"All travelers coming to Israel from a country on the red (highest-risk) list, including vaccinated or recovered individuals, will be taken to managed isolation facility, untiltheir PCR test result taken on arrival is negative. If the result is negative, they willbe allowed to complete isolation at home, provided they declare they can isolate alone, with no household members or other persons.

"All non-Israeli citizens coming from a country on the red list will not be allowed to enter Israel, unless they have permission from the Exceptions Committee."

The Israeli government previously announced a complete shutdown of international visitors and has designated over 50 countries (largely in Southern Africa) as red list in the last few weeks.

Israeli officials also confirmed that 55 Omicron cases have been confirmed in Israel, which is accelerating its booster vaccination effort.