Roughly one thousand Israelis will be allowed to leave the country and roughly the same number accepted into it starting from Sunday according to the new open sky policy the government decided to adopt at the COVID-19 cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
While the cabinet suggested 3,000 people could enter Israel, Transportation Minister Miri Regev decided to lower the figure to about one thousand, Ynet reported.The decrease was decided on to ensure those returning will have enough electronic bracelets and that each person will be thoroughly tested to ensure they are not importing with them a mutation of the novel coronavirus.
Israelis who are already after their second shot of the COVID-19 vaccination will be able to depart without going through a special committee and return without staying at a COVID-19 hotel or wear a tracing bracelet for a two weeks quarantine period at home.Israelis who have not done so will need to convince the committee they should be allowed to exit the country for special reasons and will be faced with the choice of a two week hotel stay or to wear a tracking device while at home to ensure they are keeping the health guidelines.All those who enter the country will be tested for new variants of COVID-19 when they return, even if they were vaccinated.With the exception of diplomatic workers, olim, and essential workers who are not Israeli, only Israeli citizens will be allowed into the country.
Four destinations will be available to Israelis in the new plan, New York, Frankfurt, Paris and Kiev.While Israelis could fly, for example, to Paris, and from there to any other place in the world if they so decide, they could only return to Israel from one of these four locations.
The decision now allows Israelis stranded outside the country a clear path to enter it ahead of the upcoming March elections as the committee meant to approve who is allowed in, and who is not, had been abolished.
After several reports about how Israelis refuse to leave the airport to stay at a hotel, which is paid for by the state, the monitoring bracelet solution was created and as of Sunday, would include an SMS informing the police that the wearer is meant to remain at home.660 inspectors will be recruited to ensure those meant to stay indoors are doing so.The police suggested the fine for those who violate the two-weeks quarantine order will double from 5,000 NIS to 10,000 NIS. The police will also visit the homes of 3,000 people per day to make sure they really are home, Ynet reported.
Regev is expected to hold a meeting and decide if the quotas of incoming and departing passengers might be increased in one week.
While the change of policy will be lauded by many Israelis with family in the US and elsewhere who might want to see their relatives after a difficult and stressful year, it should be noted that some countries, such as Australia, New Zeeland, and Canada, do not allow non-citizens in.In the case of Australia, citizens are expected to stay for two weeks at a COVID-19 hotel and cover some of the cost of the stay out of their own pocket.
On the other spectrum, Greece and Spain are reportedly discussing the option of accepting Israelis who got the COVID-19 vaccination without any testing or quarantine time.
Ukraine, for example, only accepts people who test for COVID-19 and are found to be negative, as does Morocco and Turkey. This means that Israelis flying to Kiev will need to be tested if they mean to leave the airport and not use the airport to reach a connecting flight.
Mexico and Costa Rica on the other hand require no testing nor evidence of taking two shots of the COVID-19 vaccination, at least at the time of this writing.