Israel to Ban Foreigners for Two Weeks Fearing new Covid Variant

Israel announced on Saturday that it will close its borders to all foreigners for two weeks, in an effort to prevent the new “omicron” COVID variant from entering the country.

The new ban, which was approved by the coronavirus cabinet, will go into effect on Sunday night, and ban any foreign national from entering Israel for 14 days.

Vaccinated Israelis returning home will need to be quarantined for 3 days until a second test proves negative, while unvaccinated Israelis will need to be in quarantine for one week, until a test on the seventh day results in a negative.

The news comes as Israel has detected its first case of the new variant on Friday, with two more people suspected of carrying the new strain. All three people were vaccinated, the Israeli health ministry said.