Israel bans travel to India, six other countries amid COVID pandemic
- A joint press release from Prime Minister Benjamin Netayahu's office imposed a ban on travel to six countries
- Apart from India, other countries included in the ban are Ukraine, Brazil, Ethiopia, South Africa, Mexico and Turkey
- As per a health ministry proposal, those returning from these seven countries should be entering a two-week quarantine period
Israel has temporarily barred its citizens from travelling to India and six other countries, citing high COVID-19 infection rates there.
A joint press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office and the Health Ministry on Friday said that Israelis will not be allowed to travel to Ukraine, Brazil, Ethiopia, South Africa, India, Mexico and Turkey.
This regulation will come into force on May 3 and will remain in place until May 16.
Also read: No pandemic end in sight with raging outbreaks in India, Brazil
Non-Israelis, however, will be able to travel to these countries, provided they plan to reside there permanently, the press release said.
The regulation will not be applicable to those who stay at airports in transit in one of these countries for a time period of up to 12 hours while waiting for a connecting flight.
The Israeli government also authorised its health and interior ministers to appoint representatives to head an appeal committee and the panel reviewing special cases.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry proposed that those returning from the seven countries enter a two-week mandatory quarantine, even if they have been vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19, local media reports said.
Also read: Australians face five years in jail or hefty fine if they return from India amid COVID pandemic
Those who have received two negative COVID-19 test reports will be required to be in a 10-day quarantine, they said.
These additional restrictions are also expected to come into force on May 3, but are subject to the approval of the Knesset’s (Israeli parliament) Arrangements Committee.
Also read: US President Joe Biden restricts travel from India to US due to the COVID-19 outbreak
A record 3,689 daily COVID-19 fatalities pushed India’s death toll to 2,15,542, while the infection count reached 1,95,57,457 with 3,92,488 more people being confirmed positive for the disease, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. The active cases have crossed the 33-lakh mark, the data updated at 8 am showed. Israel has reported 838,481 COVID-19 cases so far with 6,363 deaths.
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