Israel adds US to COVID-19 high-risk travel list

Starting August 6, Israeli travelers returning from the U.S. and 17 other countries will enter mandatory quarantine.

By TPS

Israelis returning from the U.S. and another 17 countries will now be required to enter a mandatory seven-day quarantine period, the Ministry of Health announced Tuesday, following widespread Coronavirus (COVID-19) infections in these countries.

This requirement includes those who have been fully vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19. The returnees will be able to exit quarantine on the seventh day, subject to the presentation of two negative tests. Those who were not vaccinated are required to self-quarantine upon return from any country.

Starting August 6, Israelis returning from the U.S., Ukraine, Italy, Iceland, Eswatini, Botswana, Bulgaria, Germany, the Netherlands, Tanzania, Greece, Malawi, Egypt, the Czech Republic, France, Cuba, Rwanda and Tunisia, will enter the mandatory quarantine.

Seychelles, Zambia, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Uganda, Liberia, Panama and Kenya were removed from the list.

Data presented by the Ministry of Health shows that 141 Israelis infected with COVID-19 had returned from the U.S from the end of June to the end of July, constituting 0.24% of all returnees. From Greece, 292, or 0.47%, Israelis returned infected with COVID-19, and 42 patients, 0.24%, from France.

Ilana Ganz, head of the public health staff at the Ministry of Health, explained that “the current wave of infections [in Israel] is similar to what we see in the world. Most of the world is on the rise, mainly because of the delta variant. The model for building the list is based on a number of criteria – the most important is the entry of disease into the country.”

Israel’s health system updated Tuesday that it registered 3,818 new COVID-19 cases in the country in the past 24 hours, the highest count since the beginning of March.