Israel offers booster doses to people over 12 years old 0:35
(CNN) -
Israel will allow the visit of small foreign tourist groups from certain countries as of September 19, as part of a pilot program to boost tourism, according to the country's government on Sunday.
Tourist groups of between 5 and 30 people from countries included in Israel's green, yellow and orange lists will be able to enter the country as long as all members of the group are fully vaccinated against covid-19, the Ministry of Tourism said.
Individual tourists, who have not been allowed to enter Israel since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, unless visiting relatives, will remain unable to enter if they are not part of a tourist group.
Israel had allowed the entry of small tourist groups in May, in response to the decline in COVID-19 infections.
More than 2,000 visitors arrived, mainly from the United States and Europe, raising hopes for a recovery from a tourism industry hit by the pandemic.
Israel limits entry to the country and returns to masks due to the increase in covid-19 cases
However, the initiative was halted in August as the delta variant spread, prompting an increase in covid-19 infections in Israel despite a world-leading vaccination rollout.
Under the new plan, there will be no restrictions on the number of tour groups Israel will let in, the ministry said, but groups of countries on Israel's red list, which currently includes Bulgaria, Brazil, Mexico and Turkey, will not be eligible. .
Foreign tourists will need to show that they have already received a second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in the last six months or a booster shot to enter.
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Tourists will also have to submit a negative PCR test, taken up to 72 hours before arrival, and will undergo a serological test once they land at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport.
In 2019, a record 4.55 million tourists visited Israel, adding 23 billion shekels ($ 7.2 billion) to the local economy.
The ministry said "not a single case of coronavirus was identified among the groups" that entered after restrictions were lifted in May.
He also mentioned that he hoped individual tourists would be allowed to visit in the near future, "depending on morbidity rates in Israel and around the world."
Israel offers COVID-19 booster doses to everyone 12 and older
Israel reported nearly 5,000 new coronavirus cases on September 4, down from the pandemic high of 11,201 recorded two days earlier.
Of the 9.3 million people in Israel, 5.5 million have received a second dose and another 2.5 million have received a third dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech covid-19 vaccine.
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