Israel is opening up to all travelers, including unvaccinated, from March – what you should know
Unvaccinated travelers are set to be allowed into Israel from March onward.
Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz revealed yesterday current travel restrictions – allowing only passengers who have been vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19 entry to the country – will soon be eased.
Beginning March 1, both vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers will be allowed to enter Israel after submitting two COVID-19 tests: a predeparture PCR test (which proves a demonstrable negative result) and another PCR test on arrival.
Once in the country, all travelers will be required to self-isolate for 24 hours, or until their PCR test comes back negative.
Currently, Israel's entry requirements state that non-Israeli citizens must have been fully vaccinated with an approved jab – or have proof of recovery – to be allowed entry into the country.
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Israel accepts all of the vaccines commonly administered in the U.S., including Moderna and Pfizer as well as the single-dose Johnson & Johnson.
In the case of two-dose vaccines, the second dose must have been received at least 14 days prior to arrival in Israel, and no more than 180 days prior. Where booster doses have been available, they are also necessary to qualify as "fully vaccinated" by Israel's definition.
Present rules have allowed entry for people who can prove they have recovered from COVID-19 with a certificate of recovery – if the recovery happened within a period of eight to 190 days prior to the visit.
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For more information on current entry requirements for Israel, visit the Israeli government website.
Of these restriction changes, Bennett confirmed: "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."
Israel was one of the earliest countries to lock down its borders at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, reopening briefly before locking down in December 2021 as a result of the omicron variant.