Although Omicron continues to spread across Israel at a worrying pace, the country is expected to scrap most travel restrictions after it emerged the percentage of fresh cases of the new coronavirus variant attributed to people returning from abroad, was small.
A senior health official said some restrictions will remain in place but most countries will no longer be banned for travel once percentage of newly diagnosed COVID cases imported from abroad, falls to below 5%. Tourists will also be allowed to enter if they have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Officials said last week the number of confirmed Omicron cases imported from overseas stood at 6.7%. The estimation is that will fall to below 5% within a few days as community spread is gaining pace.
Currently, the number of countries banned for travel stands at 15 and includes the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Hungary, Britain, Spain, France, Canada, Switzerland, Portugal, and Turkey.
According to estimations, the flight ban will be scrapped for most of these countries. A senior official from the Health Ministry said that only a handful of countries may still not be allowed for travel.
2 View gallery
A healthcare worker takes a swab sample from a traveler for a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test at the Ben Gurion International Airport
(Photo: Reuters)
Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov demanded at the cabinet meeting earlier to cancel the restriction that ordered vaccinated Israelis to enter quarantine upon returning from abroad.
"It has no medical value anymore, and I expect that as we dismiss Israelis from quarantine, which to my estimation should be done this week, we will simultaneously allow the return of vaccinated foreigners to Israel, because despite the aid package for the tourism industry, the tourism economy won't be able to survive, every day is crucial."
"There's going to be a mass infection wave," warned Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz at the cabinet meeting. "We will set criteria for who needs [COVID] testing - to be published soon. We are at war and changing decisions in accordance with the situation.