This archive report was first published on 21 December 2021.
December 21, 2021 - Israel has taken a significant step to contain the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant by banning its citizens and residents from traveling to the United States.
The ban, which comes into effect on Wednesday, adds the US to a list of over 50 countries restricted due to the highly transmissible variant. The decision was made by Israeli lawmakers, who voted to approve a health ministry recommendation to put the US on the country's 'red list.'
The red list already includes countries such as Italy, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Morocco, Portugal, Switzerland, and Turkey, as well as the United Kingdom, France, and Spain. The ban will remain in force for at least a week, according to a statement by committee spokeswoman Ronit Gal.
The move is significant, given that hundreds of thousands of Israelis hold US citizenship. As a result, Israeli passport holders and residents will need permission from an exemptions committee to fly to the US.
The Omicron variant has been spreading rapidly, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting that it accounted for 73.2 percent of new cases in the US over the week that ended on Saturday. In Israel, there were 1,148 confirmed or 'highly likely' Omicron cases as of Tuesday, with more than half of them among vaccinated people.
Health expert Eran Segal of the Weizmann Institute has expressed concerns that preventing Israeli citizens and residents from traveling is only a partial solution. 'Everyone knows the restrictions on the skies are to delay the arrival of Omicron, not to avert it,' he said. 'We must take advantage of these restrictions... so they help us with the vaccine efforts.'
