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Health Ministry: Israel to accept foreign tourists in September

Israel partially reopened its skies this week, with visitors from “green countries” exempt from quarantine upon arrival.

View of the empty parking lot and planes in the background at Ben-Gurion International Airport on March 10, 2020. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.
View of the empty parking lot and planes in the background at Ben-Gurion International Airport on March 10, 2020. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.

Health Ministry associate director-general Itamar Grotto said on Monday that Israel is planning to allow the entry of tourists into the country as of next month.

Grotto told the Knesset State Control Committee that the Health Ministry would present a plan for the reopening of Israel’s skies to foreigners by the end of August, the Israeli business daily Globes reported. Israel has been closed to foreigners since the coronavirus outbreak in March.

Israel on Sunday partially reopened its skies to incoming and outgoing flights, following months of closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a plan unveiled by the Israeli government last week, those entering from “green countries” will no longer be required to quarantine upon arrival.

The list of the 20 green countries is Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Jordan, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Slovenia and the United Kingdom.

The list of countries will be checked every two weeks, said the report.

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