Israel Places U.S., Other Countries, Under ‘Severe’ Travel Warning

The U.S. and several other countries including Italy and Greece were placed under severe travel warning starting from midnight Thursday.

As per the decision, all travelers entering Israel from these countries will need to quarantine for a minimum of seven days, including those who are vaccinated or recovered.

The recommendation by the Health Ministry was passed by the Knesset Labor, Welfare and Health Committee on Tuesday afternoon.

The list of countries, colored “orange,” under severe travel warning currently includes Cambodia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Fiji, Georgia, Great Britain, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Liberia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Namibia, Panama, Paraguay, Seychelles, Turkey, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

According to the recommendation, Costa Rica, Seychelles and Uganda are going to be removed from the list.

According to data presented to the committee, from the end of June until the end of July, 141 confirmed corona patients returned to Israel from the United States, constituting 0.23% of all returnees from the U.S. during that period; 27 confirmed corona patients returned to Israel from Italy during this period (0.24%); 43 returned from Germany (0.29%); 292 returned from Greece (0.47%); and 42 confirmed corona patients returned to Israel from France (0.24%).

Israelis are allowed to travel to these countries, but they need to quarantine when they return – for 14 days, which can be shortened to seven days with two negative PCR tests.

The countries considered the highest level of risk – or “red” – are placed under travel ban.

Israelis are prohibited from visiting those countries unless they obtain permission from the governmental Exceptions Committee.

The list currently includes Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, Cyprus, Georgia, U.K., India, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Russia, Spain, South Africa, Turkey and Uzbekistan.

Following the changes, the list of countries under severe travel warning will include a total of 42 countries.