Travelers walk to a coronavirus testing area after arriving at Ben Gurion Airport on March 8, 2021. (Flash90)
Two days ahead of Israel’s scheduled lifting of the vast majority of coronavirus restrictions, Health Ministry Director-General Chezy Levy said Sunday that there were no plans to end quarantine requirements for travelers.
“We are not thinking about an easing [of restrictions] at Ben Gurion Airport. We will continue to test those returning to Israel and isolate them,” Levy told Army Radio. “This is the place where quarantine is important as undetected sickness can bring the infection back to Israel.”
The comments meant that families with young children could find it difficult to travel this summer, with unvaccinated returnees required to quarantine for at least 10 days. Israel is set to begin vaccinating teens aged 12-15 in the coming weeks.
Top health expert: Israel has herd immunity, child vaccines unneeded
Director of Infectious Disease Epidemiology Unit at Sheba tells Ynet there is no need to press for vaccination of children aged 12-15 despite Health Ministry s upcoming approval and parents should decide for themselves
Attila Somfalvi |
Published: 05.25.21 , 11:24
A top health expert said Tuesday that Israel has reached herd immunity against coronavirus and there is currently no pressing need to vaccinate children.
Israel became one of the first countries in the world to lift major restrictions on movement following its high-paced vaccination campaign as the number of new daily COVID cases in the country continues to decrease.
Published May 24, 2021, 10:57 AM
JERUSALEM, Israel Israel’s Health Minister Yuli Edelstein on Sunday announced that on June 1, almost all anti-COVID-19 restrictions in the country will be lifted.
The minister explained in a statement that the decision was taken “due to the low and stable morbidity in Israel that has been going on for a long time.”
Under the decision, Israeli businesses will no longer need a purple badge, which requires fever measurement at the entrance, keeping distance among customers, placing partitions between buyers and sellers, and more.
The green pass, which represents a permit to enter indoor places including restaurants and cinemas for recovered and vaccinated people, will also be canceled.
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May. 24, 2021 3:53 PM
It’s been a while since Israelis have heard some good news, but on Sunday night, just before the nightly news, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein announced that the government will be lifting all coronavirus restrictions as of next week. This means it will be possible to go anywhere with anyone – including children and unvaccinated people – and without any special social distancing limitations, save for masks.
In addition, Edelstein announced, he will soon be holding meetings regarding indoor mask laws. “Israel is returning to normal!” Edelstein declared – a statement Israelis could have only dreamed of just a few months ago. “We conducted the best vaccination campaign in the world. For a while now, we have been reaping the fruits of the vaccines with low infection rates.”