Breaking News: All Tourists, Regardless of Vaccination Status, Can Enter Israel, Starting March 1

By Yehudit Garmaise

All tourists, regardless of their vaccination status, will be allowed into Israel, starting March 1, according to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who will still require tourists to provide two PCR tests: one before flying and one upon landing.

Only foreigners who are vaccinated against COVID-19 are currently allowed to enter Israel.  

Tourists, even the unvaccinated, who test negative upon landing at Ben Gurion Airport, will not have to quarantine, said Israel’s health ministers, who plan to lift almost all COVID restrictions by March 1.

“We are seeing a consistent decline in morbidity data, so it is time to gradually open what we were the first in the world to close,” said Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. “At the same time, we will keep our finger on the pulse and in the case of a new variant, we will respond quickly once again.”

The mandatory weekly COVID-19 testing for Israeli schoolchildren also will come to an end: as of Feb. 24 for middle school children and March 10 for elementary school students.