by Shira Silkoff
The decision to end COVID-19 testing at the airport was made in light of the decreased spread of infection and decreased morbidity.
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PASSENGERS CHECK IN at Ben-Gurion Airport. We all need to be on
the lookout for phishing or fake emails or messages to trick people into
falling for a scam.
(photo credit: FLASH90)
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Incoming travelers will no longer be required to undergo PCR tests upon landing at Ben-Gurion Airport starting from May 20, Israel’s Health Ministry announced Sunday.
The decision to end COVID-19 testing at the airport was made in light of the decreased spread of infection and decreased morbidity, and following discussions between Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz and rime Minister Naftali Bennett, along with other Health Ministry officials and Israel Airport Authority staff.
With that, however, they formulated a plan that would allow for the quick reimplementation of either a full or partial COVID-19 testing system at the airport, should the need once again arise.
In a statement shared via social media, Horowitz stated that the decision to end airport PCR testing was a continuation of the Health Ministry’s COVID-19 policy under his leadership.
“We provide all the tools to protect public health, but where there is no need and it is not necessary, we will not impose restrictions on the public,” he said.
Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, December 30, 2021. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)An estimated 1,700 new COVID-19 cases were recorded across Israel on Saturday, a Sunday morning Health Ministry update showed. There are currently 16,337 active cases of the virus in Israel, and of that number, 132 people are reported to be in serious condition, with 53 people intubated and six connected to ECMO machines.
There was a 5.02% positive return rate for the 35,344 PCR and antigen tests taken across Israel on Saturday, and the R-rate currently stands at 0.81.
Since the start of the pandemic, 10,741 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported in Israel. There has been a consistent decline in morbidity in recent weeks, with only six new deaths being recorded in the last seven days - a 71% decrease from a week prior. As of now, no new coronavirus-related deaths have been recorded since May 4.
The spread of infection has also greatly decreased over the last few weeks, and only one area of Israel - Beit El - is still classified as red under the government’s coronavirus “traffic light” system, with 27 positive coronavirus cases for every 10,000 people.
Large cities including Tel Aviv (18 positive cases per 10,000 people) and Haifa (21.2 per 10,000) are classified as yellow, along with Ashdod, Rishon Lezion, Eilat and multiple other localities across the country.
As of Sunday morning, Jerusalem is classified as a green city, with just 8.3 positive cases per 10,000 people. Other green areas include Bnei Brak (1.5 per 10,000), Beit Shemesh (4.2 per 10,000) and Umm el-Fahm (1.8 per 10,000).
Shira Silkoff
Source: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-706124
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