TEL AVIV, November 15. /TASS/. Tourists from Russia vaccinated with two doses of the Sputnik V vaccine will be able to enter Israel starting December 1, 2021, subject to a number of conditions after technical and legal entry procedure issues are resolved, according to a joint statement by Israeli health and tourism ministry and the office of the Israeli Prime Minister, issued on Monday.
However, the Russian vaccine itself has been recognized by Israel starting on November 15.
"Technical and legal issues have been discovered in the existing entry procedure for foreign tourists, which means that it will be possible for tourists vaccinated with Sputnik V to come to Israel starting December 1, 2021. By then, system synchronization will be established, legal formulations and obligations have been completed, and the entry mechanism will work without problems in order to take care of the health of both Israeli citizens and tourists, providing them with comfortable conditions and a pleasant travel experience. We made the decision that Israel will officially recognize the Russian Sputnik V vaccine on November 15, 2021," the statement said.
"Two weeks ago, Israel opened its doors to tourists vaccinated with WHO-recognized vaccines. In light of the successful vaccination of the Israeli population with a third dose and a low incidence of disease, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, together with Minister of Health Nitzan Horowitz and Minister of Tourism Yoel Razvozov made a decision to remove additional restrictions and open borders for tourists vaccinated with Sputnik V and who received a positive antibody test," the statement said.
Since March 2020, Israel has been virtually closed to tourism. Entry into the country was only possible for returning citizens or foreigners who received special permission. Since May, as part of a pilot program, several organized foreign travel groups have been admitted to the country, fully vaccinated with US-approved drugs.
The Israeli Ministry of Tourism announced in April that it considers July 1 as a possible date for the start of admission to the country of vaccinated tourists from a number of states on an individual basis, but the implementation of these plans was postponed several times due to the epidemic situation.
On November 1, Israel opened its borders for the first time in 20 months for foreign tourists vaccinated no more than six months ago with WHO-approved drugs, subject to a number of conditions for the number of vaccines and boosters received. Foreigners who meet these conditions must do swab tests 72 hours before departure and be isolated at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel until a negative result is obtained. In order to be allowed into Israel, foreigners within 14 days prior to entry "cannot be in a country belonging to the red zone, for the threat of the spread of coronavirus," the Health Ministry said earlier.