JERUSALEM, Jan. 3 Reuters -- Israel said on Monday it would allow foreigners with presumed COVID 19 immunity from countries deemed medium-risk as of January 9, partially reversing a ban on entry by foreigners imposed in late November in response to the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
The Health Ministry said on Monday that travellers from 199 countries Israel designated orange would have to prove that they are vaccinated or have recovered from COVID 19 and would be subject to PCR testing before and after arrival.
The Health Ministry has recommended that South Africa, Nigeria, Spain, Portugal, France and Canada, currently among 16 countries listed as red or high COVID 19 risk, be changed to orange Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who said in a televised address on Sunday that Israel would loosen restrictions on international travel even as Omicron-fuelled cases spiral.
The ministry said that the United States, Britain, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Mexico, Switzerland and Turkey remain on Israel's red list. Visitors from those countries need advance permission from an Israeli committee to enter the country.
Israel banned most of the travel to and from red-listed countries - initially all in southern Africa - on November 25 after the Omicron variant was first detected.