COVID-19: All inbound travellers to Israel quarantined

With 42 cases of Covid-19 now confirmed in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to enforce the complete closure of Israel’s borders.

Previously the list of banned countries included China, Macau, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, and Egypt. Citizens from these countries were unable to enter Israel, while Israeli citizens returning from these countries were compelled to enter a 14-day self-quarantine, sometimes retroactively.

Every Israeli who returns from overseas from anywhere must enter a 14-day home-quarantine. Tourists currently in Israel were given a 72-hour reprieve, before they, too, must enter quarantine.

Foreign citizens will be granted entry into Israel only if they can meet the requirement of a 14-day home quarantine.

An estimated 30,000 medical tourists go to Israel each year and this will block almost all inbound medical tourism. A few thousand Israelis go abroad for medical treatment, mainly to Germany, the UK and the USA, which are all countries with confirmed cases and deaths.