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The Israeli Government has announced plans to reintroduce the country’s ‘green pass’ Covid passport from July 29th in an effort to slow an ongoing surge of the Delta variant within the country.
The return of the ‘green pass’ follows the reintroduction of other previously removed measures, such as the requirement to once again wear masks indoors. Strict travel restrictions also remain in place in Israel, and the UK is set to be added to Israel’s ‘red list’ on 30th July, meaning special authorisation must now be given to enter the country.
Israelis currently returning from countries deemed to have high infection rates, including the UK, are required to quarantine for seven days even with a negative test result. Israel is currently experiencing a resurgence of Covid-19 in the country, with the more contagious Delta variant causing around 1,300 new cases for three straight days this week – an estimated R-rate of 1.7. On Friday 81 Coronavirus patients were in hospital in a serious condition – the highest level in almost three months.
There are now over 10,000 active cases in the country – a significant increase from the 200 cases reported just two months ago. Despite the increased cases, the Pfizer vaccine used in Israel is reportedly 91% effective at preventing serious illness and 88% efficient at preventing hospitalisation.
Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has urged all eligible Israelis to get the vaccine, asserting: “One million Israelis are refusing to get vaccinated… They are endangering the entire population. They are endangering the other eight million citizens in the country”.
To encourage uptake, Israel is set to start requiring the unvaccinated to pay for their own COVID tests. The reintroduction of the ‘green pass’ will mean that only those 12-years and above that have been double vaccinated, recovered from the virus or recently tested negative will be permitted entry into public spaces (both indoors and outdoors), such as restaurants, sporting events, gyms and places of religious worship.
Israel has one of the most successful vaccination programmes in the world, with about 62% of its 9.3 million inhabitants having received one vaccination and 56% having received both doses. A vaccine drive for Israelis 12-years and above continues apace.
