Israel declared on Monday that Israeli nationals will be prohibited from traveling to the United States without special permission as of Wednesday midnight local time (22:00 UTC Tuesday).
Concerns about the spread of the omicron version of the coronavirus were mentioned by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office as the basis for the restriction, which now encompasses Germany, Italy, Belgium, Hungary, Morocco, Portugal, Canada, Switzerland, and Turkey.
Following advice from the Health Ministry, Cabinet ministers voted on Monday to impose the ban on certain countries, according to the statement.
More than 50 countries now prohibit Israeli nationals from entering.
Israeli nationals and permanent residents will need special authorisation to travel to the United States.
Upon their return from the United States, all travelers, including those who have been vaccinated or recovered and have a valid COVID-19 certificate, will be placed in isolation for 14 days.
Unless they receive a negative result from a PCR test done on arrival, those who have not been vaccinated or recovered will have to isolate in a supervised facility. They will be allowed to finish their isolation term at home if they claim that no one else lives or stays at the location where they are isolated.
Non-Israeli nationals from the United States will be denied entry to Israel unless they obtain special permission.
All countries on Israel’s “red list” of countries with a high coronavirus risk must follow the same regulations.
