The rise in morbidity in the world worries the Ministry of Health in Israel.
Many European countries are closing their gates to tourists, and in some places there are already intermittent closures and restrictions on the movement of unvaccinated citizens.
Last week it was decided that it is not necessary to include countries whose morbidity is on the rise in the list of red countries, in order to prevent the return of Israelis from these countries, but there are those who disagree with the decision. A senior health ministry official said: "The strongest criterion in the definitions is the number of verified people coming to Israel from the same country, but there is still no country that meets such a criterion. I did not like the message that flying is safe, but it is impossible to play with the criteria. "There are many verified countries, so it is clear that the situation will worsen. The problem is that it is too reactive, and this cannot be prevented in advance."
Prof. Gili Regev Yochai, director of the Infection Prevention and Control Unit in Sheba, added: "The only thing that worries me at the moment is the entry from abroad. There is an entry of unvaccinated people and this can cause an outbreak. I think the relief in testing antigen instead of PCR before boarding is reasonable. An antigen test is sensitive enough to detect infectious people, so that anyone who gets on a plane with a negative test will not infect anyone on the plane. But in my opinion, tests should be carried out for returnees even five days after their return - and not just on landing. "On the definition of countries as red, she added:" For me, the whole world is red. "Everyone who travels abroad has to be very careful when returning to Israel."
Meanwhile, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz decided last weekend to allow antigen tests instead of PCR tests as a condition for boarding the plane, and it is clear that this decision also encountered disagreements.
Prof. Dror Mevorach, director of the Corona and Internal Affairs Department at Hadassah Ein Kerem, said: "I am not happy about the ease for those coming from the airport to switch to antigen instead of PCR. E. The eruption may be like in July and come from abroad.