Israel's borders are back open for British holidaymakers after major changes to the country's covid rules for international travellers.
On Thursday, the Israeli Ministry of Health announced that, as expected, they'd be dropping all countries from the covid red list.
החל מהלילה (בין חמישי לשישי, חצות 07.01.2022):
— משרד הבריאות (@IsraelMOH) January 6, 2022
יוסרו כל המדינות מרשימת המדינות האדומות 🟥
*בכפוף לאישור הממשלה וועדת החוקה של הכנסת.
חרף השינוי, יצוין כי במדינות רבות בעולם מצב התחלואה גבוה יותר מאשר בישראל, ולכן רצוי להימנע מהגעה למקומות אלו שלא לצורך ככל הניתן❗
In a tweet posted by the government department, it warned that many countries have a higher morbidity rate than Israel. It said: “Despite the change, it should be noted in many countries around the world the morbidity situation is higher than in Israel, so it is advisable to avoid reaching these places unnecessarily as much as possible.”
Countries on the Red List included the US, UK, Turkey, and Switzerland. Under the new rules, all travellers to Israel will be required to take a PCR test on landing at Ben Gurion airport as well as a PCR from their departure company taken no more than 72 hours before their flight.
Fully vaccinated foreigners can leave their self-organised quarantine after 24 hours, while those without full vaccination status must remain in isolation for 7 days.
The move to scrap the red list was signalled earlier this week with Ilana Gens, an official from the Israeli Ministry of Health saying in an appearance to a Knesset committee: “We estimate that next week the red country list will be empty."
She added that the criteria that Israel was using to determine travel status including the level of covid morbidity compared to Israel, saying that compared to before the holidays, “there is less epidemiological justification in restrictions."
The Israeli Ministry of Health has recently begun vaccinating people with weakened immune systems and those over 60 after a group of health experts recommended an additional vaccine dose for those most at risk from serious illness from covid.
The country reported over 10,000 cases on Monday, an increase of 4,000 from the previous day and close to its daily record for cases since the pandemic begun. However, hospital admissions have increased more slowly than in previous waves, mirroring what has been seen in larger countries like the UK and USA.
