The list of new countries from which even vaccinated travelers should be quarantined, including Ukraine, the United States and Greece, was approved by the Knesset committee on Tuesday amid fears that travelers could bring new variants of the virus.
The new restrictions will take effect next Wednesday, August 11, as Israel struggles to contain the sharp rise in new COVID-19 cases. 3,818 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Israel on Monday, with a positive test result of 3.79 percent. Currently, 22,375 active patients are registered in the country, 420 of them are hospitalized. 221 patients are in serious condition, 46 of them are on mechanical ventilation.
In an effort to stem the influx of patients from abroad, the Knesset Committee on Labor, Health and Welfare approved a request from the Ministry of Health to add 18 more countries to the list of destinations from which returnees, including vaccinated, need a seven-day home quarantine after two negative tests.
New additions: USA, Germany, France, Greece, Egypt (including the Sinai Peninsula), Ukraine, Italy, Iceland, Esvatini (formerly Swaziland), Botswana, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Tanzania, Malawi, Czech Republic, Cuba, Rwanda and Tunisia.
Countries already included in the list: UAE, Myanmar, Guatemala, Honduras, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Colombia, Fiji, Mongolia and Cambodia.
Costa Rica, Seychelles, Zambia, Paraguay, Uganda, Liberia, Panama and Kenya will be removed from the list on Sunday, and 18 new countries will be officially added next Wednesday.
The same quarantine rules apply to Israelis returning home from countries that Israelis are not allowed to visit: Spain, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, India, Mexico, Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Cyprus, Turkey, Georgia and the United Kingdom. Returning persons who have left Israel after the entry into force of the ban must also pay a fine of 5,000 shekels ($ 1,500).
In total, 42 countries are on the list of which returnees must be quarantined for seven days with two negative PCR tests – or 14 days without it.
Source: timesofisrael.com