The Health Ministry on Wednesday agreed to lift most COVID restrictions in place during the Omicron wave of the pandemic, to be presented to the coronavirus cabinet for approval.
Non-Israeli children under the age of 12, will be allowed to enter with parents who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 but will be tested upon arrival and required to quarantine until receiving a negative result.
Israelis will no longer be required to quarantine upon their return to Israel even if they have not been vaccinated and will only have to submit to a PCR test at the Ben Gurion airport.
The ministry said the need to test all arrivals in the country will allow detection of new variants through sequencing.
Green Pass restriction will be lifted from mass crowded events on March 1
The ministry also decided to leave in place, the requirement for masks indoors.
The coronavirus cabinet is meeting to decide on the fate of the remaining COVID restrictions with Prime Minister Bennett indicating he would like to see them lifted in order to allow tourism back into the country and help struggling businesses.
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Tourism industry workers demonstrating COVID restrictions in Tel Aviv in December
(Photo: Moti Kimchi)
Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov appeared to have been the one who pushed for the reopening of Israel to tourists, even speaking with other ministers in order to mobilize them to support the move.
Two weeks ago, Razvozov wrote to Bennett, saying, "In light of the refusal to vaccinate children below the age of 18 in many countries around the world, we must stipulate that from March 1, unvaccinated children accompanied by vaccinated parents, will be allowed to enter Israel. This is customary in many countries around the world and we should not be left behind."
In a meeting of health experts advising the cabinet on Tuesday, it was revealed the levels of the BA.2 variant, an offshoot of the Omicron strain was found in higher than expected levels in the sewage.
First published: 20:29, 02.16.22