The Green Islands model gives a glimpse into routine life in Eilat and the Dead Sea until the vaccine arrives • Hotel guests understood the need to perform a corona test • Mayor of Eilat: "We will prove our health resilience"
The Israelis did not disappoint:
24 hours have passed since the city of Eilat was declared a green island - and the Israelis have recaptured the city.
By car, on flights and with valid corona checks, they entered the southern resort town for a sunny vacation.
The weather did not disappoint, and the beaches were filled with vacationers.
The street shops on the Eilat promenade, which opened especially this morning on the occasion of the arrival of the vacationers, reported a lively movement of shoppers.
The parking in the Big Center at the entrance to Eilat was full to capacity, and in the many restaurants in the tourist and industrial area you could see many satisfied diners enjoying the atmosphere of freedom.
Photo: GPO
Ilan Levy, the Herods manager of the Fattal chain, walked around the hotel with a wide smile on his face.
"We had a real holiday, both for the staff, for the managers, and especially for the guests. We have been cleaning and tidying up the hotel for a few days now, and then at nine in the morning the guests came in and were really excited. They said they waited a long time for the hotels to open. "And to Pargan to the hotel. To our surprise, the guests understood the corona tests and were surprised that there were almost no queues at the entrance to the city," he says.
Yair and Nitzan Friedler got married a week ago in Tel Aviv.
They chose to spend their honeymoon on vacation at the Dan Hotel in Eilat.
Exactly three days ago, on Nitzan's birthday, she did a corona examination before they went on vacation in Eilat.
"We came mostly to rest after the great stress and preparations for the wedding," Nitzan said.
According to Yair, her new husband, they feel much calmer that Eilat has the outline of the character and the obligation to check the corona.
"We came for a vacation after the wedding and to work on the next generation."
Meanwhile, the largest rapid testing complex in the country opened yesterday at 07:00 at the Yotvata Inn.
Until 22:00, 1,000 Israelis were inspected in a compound set up by the Alon headquarters of the Home Front Command, the Procurement Administration (Ministry of Defense) in cooperation with the Eilat Municipality. The result is obtained within 15 minutes, and without the need to transport the samples to the laboratory.
Among the respondents this morning was the mayor of Eilat, Meir Yitzhak-Halevi, who hurried to the Dead Sea to meet the president and the tourism minister.
Before leaving Eilat, he said: "I am very happy that overall logic and common sense, together with determination and adherence to the goal, led to the approval of the law and the declaration of Eilat as a 'green island'. The opening of the city of Eilat will undoubtedly help the city's economy. "To the mood of thousands of residents who found themselves unemployed for many months, as time passes and as we demonstrate our health resilience thanks to an urban action system, and especially thanks to the personal responsibility and self-discipline required of residents and vacationers."
Meanwhile, many Israelis have already arrived on vacation in the Dead Sea, although not all hotels have opened.
Some of the hotels are expected to open only early next week, and some have taken advantage of the period for renovations and will only open later.
At the entrance to the hotel area, stations were set up to check that everyone who entered had undergone a corona test and received a negative result.
Hotel chains are reporting high demand and are calling on holidaymakers to abide by the guidelines.
Yossi Glazer, CEO of Leonardo Club Dead Sea from the Fattal chain, commented on the return of tourists: "In the current period, the hotel operates in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and the purple character.
Entry to the hotel area is possible after check-in and with a valid corona inspection permit.
At the entrance to the hotels, heat tests are performed, and there is great care for sterility in all areas of the hotel.
The hotel staff is well prepared and looks forward to entertaining our guests with love and providing a special, and of course safe, vacation. "
The Isrotel chain is also celebrating the opening of the Dead Sea.
Nahum Kara, VP of Marketing and Sales at the Isrotel chain: "The Israeli public is learning the new rules of the game of the Green Tourist Islands, and we are already seeing 60-50 percent occupancy for next week and 80-70 percent for the weekend.
Along with the joy and excitement, we ask our guests to help with the success of the Green Islands, and to arrive from home with a valid negative corona test. "