Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his intention to ban entry "
as soon as possible
" to all foreign visitors in the face of a mutation of the new coronavirus in several countries, as the Hebrew state launched general public vaccination this Monday, December 21.
Read also: What we know about the latest Sars-CoV-2 mutations
The head of government was the first, on Saturday, to be administered the vaccine against Covid-19 in Israel in order to "
set an example
".
On Monday, the vaccination campaign was expanded not only to healthcare workers but to the population, starting with people aged 60 and over.
While starting this vaccination, the Hebrew State has beefed up its health measures by putting an end this weekend to its policy of "
green
" countries, that is to say from which travelers did not have to go. place in quarantine on arrival in Israel.
And, on Sunday evening, Israeli authorities banned entry to foreign nationals from the United Kingdom, Denmark and South Africa, after a new strain of the novel coronavirus was detected in those countries.
“
The viral mass entering Israel needs to be reduced as much as possible as the UK tries to find out what (this mutation) really is, and whether it is resistant to the vaccine.
Therefore, I asked to reproduce what we did during the first wave of the coronavirus, which is to close the skies as quickly as possible,
”Netanyahu said on Monday.
At the start of the first wave in March, authorities closed their borders to tourists but allowed entry to Israeli nationals and foreigners with valid work visas.
On Monday, the government did not say whether the same measures would be put in place.
On the other hand, he indicated that “
certain
” foreign travelers “
like diplomats
” could benefit from exemptions, and that the quarantines (14 days) would be in hotels designated by the Ministry of Health.