Green Pass returns to Israel as delta virus gains. More travel bans

The new plan to restore the Green Pass for containing the spreading covid delta variant goes into effect next Wednesday after getting government approval on Sunday.

People deemed immune to Covid-19, after vaccination or negative testing, may be admitted to  public spaces and events  – inside and outside – of more than 100 participants. Vaccination refusers over 12 must produce negative tests conducted at their own expense. Children under 12 are exempted from these rules.

Israel lifted almost all its restrictions in April after a crash vaccination program covering more than half of the population beat down the pandemic. More than a million people opted out of the shots. However, the highly contagious delta variant is now pushing the figures up: more than 1,300 tested positive on Wednesday, while serious cases – albeit still low – have begun to edge up.

Israeli travel has moreover now been banned to the, UK, Georgia, Hungary, Cyprus, in addition to Russia, Mexico, South Africa, India, Argentina, Brazil, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Spain and Kyrgyzstan.