The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have classified Israel at Level 4 for COVID-19 risk, the highest level in their system, recommending that Americans avoid travel to Israel.
“If you must travel to Israel, make sure you are fully vaccinated before travel,” the warning issued on Monday reads. “Because of the current situation in Israel, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk of getting and spreading COVID-19 variants.”
Among countries at Level 4 are Spain, France, Brazil and the UAE.
Last week, Israel also issued a severe travel warning against the US. Starting from Wednesday, all travelers entering the country from there are going to be required to quarantine for at least of seven days.
Due to the highly contagious Delta variant, Israel has been registering a surge in cases, with over 6,200 new virus carriers registered on Monday, the highest since February. Over half of the new cases were fully vaccinated.
The morbidity is also significantly increasing in the US, where cases have averaged 100,000 for three days in a row, up 35% over the past week, according to a Reuters tally of public health data.