Israel has prohibited its citizens and residents from travelling to Russia after placing the country on a travel blacklist, the Israeli Ministry of Health said Sunday.
The ministry said Russia was one of a number of countries where the risk of coronavirus remained high and banned its citizens from travelling to Russia from Monday until at least June 13.
In addition to Russia, Israel’s travel black list includes Argentina, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Brazil, South Africa, India, Mexico and Turkey. Travel to these countries is prohibited apart from in exceptional cases which require prior approval from a government agency.
Covid-19 cases in Russia remain relatively high, while vaccinations are proceeding slowly, with only around 11% of Russians having received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. Russians are able to get vaccinated using one of three homemade jabs which have been authorized for use.
Earlier this month, the independent Levada Center pollster said that more than half of Russians (62%) are still not ready to get vaccinated with Sputnik V.
Russians are still unable to travel to most of Europe due to coronavirus restrictions, although some countries have started to accept Russian tourists. Greece, for instance, opened its borders to Russians earlier May, provided travellers have a vaccination certificate, an antibody test, or a negative Covid-19 test.
