Jerusalem | The Israeli government on Sunday banned its citizens from traveling to several European countries including France on the red list, and the United States could be added to it to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
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These restrictions on travel abroad, which already affected most African countries as well as Great Britain and Denmark, now also apply to Spain, Finland, France, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and also the United Arab Emirates.
The Israeli Ministry of Health also recommended adding to this red list the United States, despite the hundreds of thousands of binationals, as well as Canada, Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Morocco. , Portugal, Switzerland and Turkey.
This proposal still needs to be validated by the government and parliamentarians.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has defended these travel restrictions, which he says are necessary to avoid resorting to new lockdowns.
” Hurry up. European countries have either established containments or are preparing to do so, ”he said on Sunday before a cabinet meeting.
Non-resident foreigners are prohibited from entering Israel, with some exceptions. Israeli citizens and residents in a newly redlisted country will be required to confine themselves for a week upon their return.
On Sunday evening, Bennett said the country was witnessing a fifth epidemic wave, calling on residents to telecommute and vaccinate their children.
“Our goal is to defeat this new wave with the least possible consequences on the economy and education,” he said.
Ran Balicer, head of the national pandemic expert group, told AFP that travel restrictions will ensure that life in the country follows its usual course.
“The more strict you are in preventing the importation (of the virus) (…), the more flexible you can be concerning the economy and daily life,” he said.
More than 440 cases of the Omicron variant have already been detected in Israel, a month after its identification in South Africa.
More than 4.1 of Israel’s 9.3 million people have received three doses of the vaccine, with the country currently immunizing children aged five to 11.