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International arrivals to Israel that have been vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 will still need to test negative for the virus in order to avoid quarantine, the government said on Tuesday.
Travelers will need to test negative for the virus 72 hours before taking off for their flight back to Israel, and test negative again upon arrival in Israel, in order to test out of quarantine, according to a joint statement released by the Prime Minister’s office. Minister, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Transport.
If either test is positive, the traveler will need to self-quarantine at home.
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If anyone comes in contact with a confirmed virus carrier, they will have to self-isolate for 10 days and test negative twice before flying, the statement said.
Health officials likely made the decision because of fears that those vaccinated could still carry and spread the virus, and because of fears of new virus variants entering the country.
The virus testing lab at Ben-Gurion Airport, Israel’s main international airport, is currently not operating but can perform 20,000 tests per day, Channel 12 reported.
Ben-Gurion Airport has been almost fully closed since January 25 as Israel seeks to prevent the entry of new coronavirus variants that have contributed to the latest relentless increase in the number of cases.
On Friday, the government extended the shutdown at least until February 20.
Israel and Greece announced on Monday an agreement to recognize each other’s “green passports”, allowing vaccinated people to travel freely between the two countries.
Hebrew media have speculated that the deal will be reached shortly after the Passover feast, which begins at the end of next month.
Israel is also negotiating an agreement with the UK and Estonia on a travel corridor between countries for the vaccinated, according to Army Radio. Monday’s report says talks have been going on for several days.
Israel is also in talks on promulgating similar agreements with Romania, Serbia, Cyprus, Georgia and Seychelles, the Ynet news site reported.
Israel’s third national lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 was eased slightly at 7 a.m. on Sunday, after more than a month.
Israel continues to face a high daily infection rate, despite the lockdown and its vaccination campaign, which dominates the world in terms of inoculations per capita.
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