Testing only upon landing at Ben Gurion Airport, exemption from quarantine for children returning from abroad

February 16, 2022   

The government will approve tomorrow (Thursday) a series of easing of coronavirus restrictions formulated by Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz and senior officials in his office.

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These are some of the expected steps:

• The test before the flight back to Israel will be canceled and only the test at Ben Gurion Airport will remain. So far, Israel is among the only countries in the world that require two tests from those returning from abroad.

• The quarantine requirement for unvaccinated Israelis returning to Israel will be abolished.

• Foreign children up to the age of 12 accompanied by vaccinated parents - will be allowed to enter Israel, subject to quarantine until receiving a negative test result at Ben Gurion Airport. This is in contrast to the current policy, which requires unvaccinated children returning from abroad to undergo a 5-day quarantine period.

• Foreigners over the age of 12 who are not vaccinated - will not be allowed to enter.

According to a report by Sharon Idan on 'Kan News', due to the expected cancellation of pre-flight checks, a 300% surge was recorded this evening in demand for flights abroad for the Passover vacation.

In about a week, the testing outline in the education system, which requires antigen tests to be performed twice a week, will be reconsidered.

As part of the emerging trend of lifting coronavirus restrictions by March 1, it was decided that the green light for high-risk events will not be extended, but the requirement to wear masks in enclosed spaces will remain. The decision to ease entry requirements will likely go into effect next week, in order to open Israel up to tourists again and allow children to enter the country - a move that would mean a resumption of family tourism.