After banning all foreign travelers in response to the discovery of the Omicron variant last month, Israel will now add 10 new countries – including the US, Canada and Germany – to its “red list” of places where Israeli citizens and residents cannot travel.
The move will officially take effect at midnight on December 22nd. Along with the USA, Canada and Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Switzerland and Turkey have been added to the list.
Israel has seen an increase in the number of cases recently, according to the Reuters COVID-19 tracker. As of December 20, the country averaged 753 cases per day, and the country has imposed travel restrictions to get ahead of the Omicron variant, which is supposed to be more infectious than previous variants.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that roughly 15 percent of new infections have come from overseas, including a case where 17 passengers were diagnosed with the Omicron variant on a flight from Miami.
Of the 5,787 new coronavirus cases in the past week, 877, or about 15 percent of all cases, came from abroad.
Israel has been noted as an example of the successful introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine. Along with a high vaccination population, Israel currently requires a Green Pass for indoor gatherings with more than 50 people. A green pass means that a person has been vaccinated, recovered, or tested negative for coronavirus.
Isolation required for travelers returning from red-listed countries
There are currently 58 countries on Israel’s “red list”. According to the travel site, Israel is on the red list if the infection rate among travelers arriving from that country in the past month is more than 2 percent or there is an outbreak in which infections are doubling at a rate of 2 or more.
Israeli citizens returning from countries included in the “red list” are required to go through complete isolation, regardless of vaccination status or recovery from the virus.
Complete isolation is considered 14 days. If the traveler takes two PCR tests – one on arrival and the other on the 7th day of isolation – and is negative in both cases, the isolation period may be reduced to 7 days.
Are there any exceptions to the rule?
If you have exceptional circumstances and need to travel to or from Israel, there is an Exceptions Committee in the country that reviews travel requests on a case-by-case basis.
You will need to fill out a Hebrew form to submit your request to the committee.