Israel on Tuesday placed the U.S. and 17 other countries under severe travel warning after Knesset approved a recommendation by the Health Ministry.
From August 11, all travelers from these specified destinations will be required to quarantine for a minimum of seven days, regardless of whether they had been vaccinated for or recovered from coronavirus.
The full list of nations to be added to the already existing countries requiring quarantine, which was approved by Knesset's Labor, Welfare and Health Committee, includes Ukraine, Italy, Iceland, Eswatini, United States, Botswana, Bulgaria, Germany, Netherlands, Tanzania, Greece, Malawi, Egypt, Czech Republic, France, Cuba, Rwanda and Tunisia.
The list of countries under severe travel warning currently includes Cambodia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Fiji, Georgia, Great Britain, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Liberia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Namibia, Panama, Paraguay, Seychelles, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
However, the ministry asked to remove Seychelles, Zambia, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Uganda, Liberia, Panama and Kenya from the list.
The coronavirus cabinet was set to convene on Tuesday afternoon, to approve additional restrictions, as the number of daily cases surpassed 3,000 for the first time since March.
The Health Ministry said that 3,818 Israelis tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. After more than 101,766 tests conducted, the positivity rate stood on 3.78%.
Out of 22,345 active patients, 221 are in serious condition, with 46 connected to ventilators.
The death toll since the start of the pandemic rose to 6,492.
Other than approving the new list of "high risk" countries, ministers were also said to mull expanding the scope of the Green Passport, which was reinstated last week, and limit the number of people allowed to congregate.
Currently, children under 12 are exempt from the pass, but this is likely to change, as rules are expected to be tightened.
Sheba Medical center, Israel's largest hospital, said on Tuesday that it was reopening its coronavirus intensive care ward after an increase in patients in need of respiratory assistance as virus cases surge.