In an effort to curb the spread of the new coronavirus Omicron variant, the so-called coronavirus cabinet on Saturday approved an earlier decision by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz to impose a two-week ban on foreigners entering Israel.
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Vaccinated Israelis returning from abroad will be required to self-isolate at home for 72 hours and will be able to exit quarantine with one negative PCR test. Unvaccinated Israelis, on the other hand, will have to self-isolate at home for at least 7 days as well as undergo mandatory testing. All arrivals will have to take PCR tests upon landing at Ben-Gurion International Airport.
Israelis returning from so-called "red" countries will be required to take a PCR test upon arrival and quarantine at a state-run hotel until they receive negative results, with the exception of vaccinated Israelis and those who recovered from the virus in the past six months. Those who test negative will be able to self-isolate for the rest of the week at home.
The government also decided to put 50 countries, all in Africa, on its no-fly list. Israelis will not be allowed to travel to these countries for at least two weeks.
The committee also reinstated the "green pass" vaccination certificate mandate for indoor events with more than 50 people. Until now, the certificate had been applicable for events with over 100 people.
Health officials stressed before the committee the importance of coronavirus vaccinations given the new Omicron variant, which is causing alarm worldwide due to its supposed heightened transmissibility and ability to evade antibodies. Nevertheless, Hanukkah events will go ahead as planned.
"We are in a time of uncertainly, which is neither simple nor comfortable," Bennett said with regard to the situation. "The key here is caution and minimal risk until we learn more. We want to maintain Israel's great achievement – a functioning economy and active education system [alongside COVID]. This is our top priority.
"The vaccine prevents serious illness, and the booster is crucial in preventing it. Therefore, now is the time to get vaccinated, before the variant spreads. This is the time to protect your family, your children, yourself. Those who choose not to get vaccinated with the booster are willingly giving up an essential layer of protection, at a critical time," he said,
"Ahead of Hanukkah, for the children to celebrate safely, take them to get inoculated," Bennett said.
So far, one individual, a vaccinated Israeli woman returning from Malawi, has been found to carry the Omicron variant. Seven more people suspected of having been infected with it are currently awaiting their PCR test results. Of the seven, three have been vaccinated, and four have either recovered from COVID in the past six months or been vaccinated with the second dose over six months ago. Four of the seven have recently returned from abroad.
Israel's decision to impose new travel restrictions as part of its efforts to thwart the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has angered many in the tourism industry.
Lena Drowczewski, deputy chairwoman of Moreshet Derech – The Association of Guides in Inbound Tourism to Israel, called the restrictions "a difficult blow" to the tourism sector. "The [so-called] coronavirus cabinet's decision is leading to the total collapse of the incoming tourism sector in Israel. This is the sixth-largest sector that provides income to hundreds of thousands of businesses," she said.
Drowczewski emphasized that "the blanket ban on entry to foreigners is the direct continuation of the previous unclear policy: closure without compensation. We demand compensation for the lost months of work from the Israeli government and for them to consolidate a fitting economic response to the new situation, as promised by government ministers at the press conference."
She said, "The principal conclusion from all of the frameworks presented thus far is that the government is disconnected from reality and leading tourists and travel agents around the world to express distrust in bringing tourists to Israel as there is no organized, responsible policy the likes of which exist everywhere else in the world.
"The easy solution for the last Israeli governments is to first close Ben-Gurion Airport's gates and only later think of the disaster this will bring to tens of thousands of families. These families cannot hold on at a time when the politicians promise solutions and do not keep their word. They are already desperate and begging the Israeli government to act responsibly. We will continue to fight and escalate our steps in the coming days," she said.
The tourism industry is witnessing a wave of cancellations from the continent following the cabinet's decision to ban entry to foreigners from almost all African states and require all those returning to Israel from such red states, including those who received a booster shot of the coronavirus vaccine and those who recently recovered from the virus, to quarantine.
Nir Mazor, vice president of Kishrey Teufa, called the government's decision "another blow to the tourism industry, which had just begun to recover from the blow delivered by the coronavirus pandemic. As of right now, we have yet to see significant cancellations, other than to the Seychelles and certain countries in Europe where lockdowns have been imposed, and the desire to fly again is leading passengers who booked long-term flights to wait and not to rush to cancel them. We are continuing to follow the decisions and hope the picture will soon become clear."
Commenting on the government's decision to restrict travel from destinations where morbidity levels are low, Tali Yativ, the owner and CEO of sightseeing company Spirit World Productions, said, "We were very surprised to receive the government's dramatic announcement one day before the first direct flight to Mauritius, as well as a number of flights that were to take off next week to the Seychelles that we had worked very hard on. These are two destinations that are closed to tourists and flights from South Africa, and morbidity there is low, and they still were made red. Since the announcement, we are making every effort to find out customers good and safe alternatives."
Atlas Hotels General Manager Lior Lipman told Israel Hayom that "the Health Ministry's declaration of a halt on tourism for two weeks hit us at a stage where we had started to see the initial spark of tourists returning – something we had been eagerly waiting on for a long time. This decision has already caused us many canceled bookings from both the private and business sector. Unfortunately, even if – and I hope that this is the case – the tourism is stopped for two weeks, we will see the repercussions, unfortunately, for a long time to come."
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