The Ministry of Health on Sunday evening expanded the list of countries from which returnees must enter a full, seven-day quarantine subject to two negative COVID-19 tests. The list will take effect on Monday, August 16.
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According to the ministry's new guideline, travel to low-risk yellow countries is allowed for Israelis, but there is an obligation to quarantine upon a return to Israel until a negative test is received or for 24 hours, whichever comes first.
The additional travel restrictions come amid the backdrop of a quickly rising morbidity rate in Israel and growing calls for a nationwide lockdown. As of Sunday night, the Health Ministry reported that the number of seriously ill patients was 366, among them 53 on ventilators. There are some 30,000 active cases currently in Israel.
The countries defined as yellow are: Austria, Australia, Hong Kong, Hungary, Taiwan, Moldova, New Zealand, China, Singapore and the Czech Republic.
People who are unvaccinated must be in complete isolation.
The following is the list of red countries to which travel is prohibited, except in cases approved by the Exceptions Committee: Bulgaria, Brazil, Georgia, Mexico, Spain and Turkey.
It should be noted that among the yellow countries, the only ones allowing Israelis to enter are Austria, Czech Republic and Moldova. As such, they are the only countries Israelis can visit and return from without needing to quarantine (this only refers to vaccinated or recovered individuals, of course).
All countries that do not appear in one of the two categories above are defined as orange countries (countries at risk), and returnees from them will be required to be fully isolated – at any age – including those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered.
Also Sunday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett approved the outline of the plan for the start of the next school year, jointly formulated by Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz.
According to the plan, from this week until the return of students to kindergartens and schools, 1.6 million children from kindergarten to sixth grade will be asked to take serological tests. The tests will first be conducted in ultra-Orthodox cities, where the school year will begin this Monday, August 9, and will gradually extend to other students in the country.
The Education Ministry estimates that between 20% and 30% of children have recovered from the coronavirus or were asymptomatic. These children will receive a green passport and will be exempt from isolation.
In addition, 1.9 million children will receive a home screening kit approximately 48 hours before the start of the school year.
In parallel with serological tests and screening tests, the "green class" model was adopted in a school where a case of coronavirus was detected. According to this model, the patient will remain in isolation and the rest of the school – students and teachers – will perform screening tests for a week.
The plan is based on a principle that aims to ensure a routine and continuity of learning in the education system, despite recent the rise in coronavirus cases in the country.
"Over the past year and a half, children have paid a heavy price due to social disconnection and loneliness, as well as the loss of many school days. We have a moral and educational duty to create stability for them, for their personal and mental strength, as well as for the educational staff," said Shasha-Biton.
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