Israel to drop vaccination requirements and open borders for all

The Israeli prime minister’s office has confirmed Israel will begin allowing entry to all tourists, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated against Covid-19, from 1 March. Under the new guidelines, tourists of all ages, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, will be allowed to enter Israel, as long as they submit a negative PCR before boarding and take another PCR after landing. Currently only Covid-19 vaccinated foreigners are allowed into Israel, following the country first shutting its borders to foreigners in March 2020. Prime minister Naftali Bennett commented: “We are seeing a consistent decline in morbidity numbers, so this is the time to gradually open up what we were the first in the world to close.” Sharon Ehrlich Bershadsky, director of the Israel Tourism Office in London commented: “This is the news that we have been eagerly waiting for since the first wave of the pandemic two years ago. Israel has had a world leading response to its management of coronavirus and this decision to open the borders in line with new figures is welcomed. After two years we hope this is one of many boosts the travel industry needs as it bounces back after a long period of uncertainty. We are hopeful visitor levels will begin to restore themselves to pre-pandemic numbers as consumer confidence grows in line with restrictions easing.” All new travel restrictions will soon be listed on https://israelsafe.com and https://corona.health.gov.il/en/