Israel to open to unvaccinated tourists from March

Jerusalem, Feb 21 (IANS) Israel has announced that starting from March 1 it will open borders to all tourists, including the unvaccinated.

All tourists would be required to undergo two PCR tests, one prior to departure and the other after landing, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said in a joint statement on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported.

For Israeli nationals, the requirement to take an antigen test before boarding the plane was cancelled. Instead, only a PCR test upon arrival will be mandatory.

The unvaccinated Israelis will need no quarantine if with a negative result of a PCR test at the airport.

"We are seeing a steady decline in the morbidity data," Bennett said in the statement.

"At the moment, the situation in Israel is good," he noted, adding that this was "the result of correct and dynamic management."

Currently, only vaccinated tourists are allowed to enter the country.

Israel restricted the entry of foreign visitors in March 2020 and later eased the restrictions. As cases of the highly infectious Omicron variant were detected in late 2021, the country virtually closed its skies to foreign tourists.