COVID-19: Israel to allow vaccinated tourists starting next month; read details

The State of Israel could start allowing individual vaccinated tourists into the country at the beginning of November, Times of Israel reported. As per the current travel regulations, only tourists in groups of five or more are allowed to enter the middle eastern country. Additionally, first-degree relatives of Israeli citizens or residents are also permitted to visit the middle eastern country. 

In the latest development, the Israeli regulators have said the first phase of reopening the country to foreign tourists will encompass roughly 40 countries with which travel agreements have been linked previously. However, major countries, including the UK, US, and Canada, have been excluded from the deal, which involves the recognition of vaccine passports. The latest regulations, which would come into effect starting November 1, could provide the required thrust to Israel’s struggling tourism industry. 

Who can enter Israel?

According to Hebrew-language daily Globes, all individual tourists desiring to enter Israel must be vaccinated with at least two or three (booster) doses of a recognised COVID vaccine. The inoculation should have been done within the past six months of boarding the flight. At present, only two shots, that manufactured by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech have been recognised by Israeli health authorities, but authorities said they would accept any vaccine approved by the World Health Organization. 

Israel to reach herd immunity 

Israel was one of the first countries to declare itself free of the lethal respiratory infection, but a resurgence of COVID prompted authorities to introduce a third booster shot. However, as more and more people got the additional jab, authorities reckoned that the country could now move towards herd immunity against the lethal coronavirus pandemic. Last month, the country’s Health Ministry stated that if the country continues alongside high levels of COVID inoculations, there is a “good chance” that Israel will reach a situation “similar to herd immunity” in the next month or two. 

At present, the country has successfully administered more than 45,213 vaccine doses. There has been a considerable drop in the COVID infection rate as well with 109,083 registered in the last 28 days, according to John Hopkins University. Additionally, it has registered 507 deaths in past 28 days, a significantly low tally as compared to the rest of the world. 

Image: IsraelTourism/Twitter