The coronavirus cabinet on Thursday concluded decided that Israelis will be able to fly to Bulgaria, Croatia and certain locations in Greece, and when they return home, they will not be required to enter isolation. The decision is expected to go into effect on August 16.
The cabinet is still reviewing allowing Israelis to fly to Cyprus and Bulgaria.
On Wednesday, Transportation Ministry director-general Ofer Malka told the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee his ministry has submitted an updated list of countries to the Health Ministry from which to allow Israelis to return without isolation, but it had not been approved or finalized. Most of the countries were green, though some were red with lower levels of morbidity, he said.
Among the countries that were expected to be on the list but were not approved on Thursday: Austria, Denmark, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Jordan, Latvia and Lithuania.
The full terms of the conditions for Israelis flying to those countries have not yet been determined. However, a joint statement by the Health, Transportation, Foreign and Tourism ministries, together with the National Security Council, said that people traveling to Bulgaria will be asked to take a test 72 hours before traveling. So long as it is negative, travelers will not need to be re-screened or isolated. A similar process will occur for those wishing to travel to Croatia, but the screening will need to be 48 hours in advance.
Earlier in the day, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said that he had agreed to allow some Israelis to tour his country, despite Israel’s high rate of coronavirus.
“The decision expresses the warm relationship between the countries and the common desire to return to normal life in the coronavirus era,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi.
He said that he hopes more European countries will follow suit. As of now, most European countries still refuse to admit Israelis because of its high rate of infection.
The agreement will allow some 600 Israeli tourists to travel to four locations: Athens, Crete, Thessaloniki and Corfu. Tourists entering Greece will be required to be screened for the virus before their flight and again on landing. Until receiving the second test result, they will be required to stay in isolation.
The foreign ministers met at Ashkenazi’s office in Jerusalem.
During the meeting, they discussed the “warm and friendly” relations between the two countries, a release from the Foreign Ministry said, and the importance of opening Greece to Israeli tourism in the coronavirus era.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had spoken with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis earlier in the summer regarding the opening of borders between the two countries, but the decision was put on hold as Israel entered its second wave of coronavirus, causing the original August 1 deadline to be delayed.
Earlier in the day, the coronavirus cabinet convened to discuss how Ben-Gurion Airport will handle opening the skies.
Among the directives that are expected to be established at the airport: Travelers can only enter the airport with a ticket and the results of a negative coronavirus test in hand, four hours before their flight; they will have their temperature taken and be forbidden from entering if it is over 38 degrees Celsius; passengers who can enter terminals will be demarcated with a badge; and all airplanes will be disinfected before, during and after flights.
At the coronavirus cabinet meeting, which Netanyahu had to leave in anticipation of the historic announcement of a new peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, new coronavirus commissioner Prof. Ronni Gamzu discussed options for how to handle the growing coronavirus crisis in the country. He presented three plans, which he said could be rolled out as early as next week if Israel does not see a decrease in coronavirus cases, or soon after schools open and the High Holidays commence if there is a spike.
On Thursday, the Health Ministry reported that 1,614 people were diagnosed with coronavirus the day before, and another 1,069 between midnight and press time. Some 371 people were in serious condition, including 110 who were intubated. At press time, the death toll was 651.
Plan one would be continuing status quo efforts of cutting off infection chains, targeting red cities, etc.
Plan two would be running a program that would prevent crowding. This could include closing restaurants, hotels, malls and markets and other non-essential workplaces and reducing the number of passengers allowed on public transportation to 40% capacity.
This plan would be maintained until the country has only 400 patients per day and then the economy could fully reopen.
A final option would be putting total lockdown on red zones alongside operating the standard restrictions among the general public. No final decision was made.
“We must prepare for the possibility of a worsening situation,” Gamzu said.