Provided that the coronavirus cabinet’s decision is approved by the full government, starting next Friday (July 30), the UK, Turkey, Cyprus and Georgia will be added to the list of countries officially labeled as a “destination with highest COVID-19 risk,” sometimes also described as “red” and effectively under a travel ban.
Israelis are prohibited from visiting those countries unless they obtain permission from the governmental Exceptions Committee.
How does Israel determine which nations to place into this category, as well as the ones classified as a “destination with COVID-19 travel warning” (orange) or a “destination with COVID-19 travel notice” (yellow)?
The health authorities look at both the number of cases registered locally and the number of virus carriers entering Israel from that country.
A country is considered to be at highest risk when within 30 days, either at least 50 travelers returning from it test positive for coronavirus, or more than 10 do, but the rate is higher than 0.5% of the total number of travelers entering Israel from that nation.
Alternatively, a country can be considered to be at highest risk in light of its high level of morbidity, measured using the epidemiological models developed by Imperial College London and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
As of last Friday, that list included Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, India, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Russia, Spain, South Africa and Uzbekistan.
A destination with COVID-19 travel warning does not yet meet the criteria to be placed under a travel ban, but it is predicted to do so within two weeks.
As of last Friday, that list included 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.
Travelers who enter Israel from those countries are required to self-isolate even if they are vaccinated or recovered.
Countries that are classified as a destination with COVID-19 travel notice have more than 500 new cases per million residents, or their ratio of positive cases per total travelers entering Israel is higher than 0.3%, or they have other indicators that suggest that notice.
As of last Friday, that list included Angola, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Belize, Bolivia, Botswana, Central African Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Dominican Republic, Guinea, Greece, Holland, Jordan, Lesotho, Malawi, Maldives, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Currently, that classification does not bear any practical consequence. But it is meant to warn people who are planning on traveling to those countries that the situation might deteriorate.
In general, the Health Ministry is recommending that all Israelis avoid nonessential travel abroad.