Israel to ban travel to Canada, US, others
Spread of the omicron variant behind decision
JERUSALEM – Israeli ministers on Monday agreed to ban travel to the United States, Canada and eight other countries amid the rapid, global spread of the omicron variant.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office announced the decision following a Cabinet vote.
The rare move to redlist the U.S. comes amid rising coronavirus infections in Israel and marks a change to pandemic practices between the two nations with close diplomatic relations. The U.S. will join a growing list of European countries and other destinations to which Israelis are barred from traveling, and from which returning travelers must remain in quarantine.
A parliamentary committee is expected to give the measure final approval. Once authorized, the travel ban will take effect at midnight Wednesday.
Foreign nationals are not allowed to enter, and all Israelis arriving from overseas are required to quarantine – including people who are vaccinated.
Other countries that were approved to be added to the travel ban starting Wednesday are Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Switzerland and Turkey.
Israel rolled out a world-leading vaccination campaign early this year, and more than 4.1million of Israel’s 9.3 million people have received a third dose of the Pfizer/biontech vaccine.
In a prime-time address on Sunday, Bennett urged parents to vaccinate their children, declaring that the country’s “fifth wave” of coronavirus infections had begun. As of Sunday, Israel’s Health Ministry has reported 175 cases of the new variant.
Israel has recorded at least 8,232 deaths from coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.