Photo Credit: Olivier Fitoussi / Flash 90
Health care workers in Jerusalem take test samples of Israelis in a drive-through complex to check whether they have been infected with the coronavirus in Jerusalem, on August 10, 2021.

The United States has extended its ban on non-essential travel along its northern border with Canada and its southern border with Mexico.

The ban will remain in place at least until September 21.

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The State of Israel likewise has extended its coronavirus travel ban to “red-listed” countries.

In addition, most non-citizen travelers from abroad will not be allowed to enter the country, with individually specified exceptions, through September 20. The ban does not, however, apply to non-citizen first-degree relatives of Israeli citizens currently living in the Jewish State.

The Health Ministry specifies on its coronavirus website that “foreign nationals must have an entry permit issued by the Population and Immigration Authority.
Without this permit, boarding will be denied.”

Click here to see the torturously detailed guidelines for non-citizens who want to enter Israel.

Click here to access the application for entry permit.

The Health Ministry underlines that entry to Israel is prohibited for foreign nationals from Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Georgia, Turkey and Bulgaria, as of August 16. There is, however, some accommodation for emergency situations.

For more detailed information, click here.

Public Hospitals Stop Accepting COVID-19 Patients
In the State of Israel, seven public hospitals (Hadassah Ein Kerem, Laniado, Shaare Zedek, English, Mayanei HaYeshua, and Italian) announced Monday (Aug. 23) they will cease accepting coronavirus patients, effective immediately.

The hospitals also said that as of Wednesday this week, they will function on “Shabbat status” — caring for and accepting emergency cases only.

Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz told reporters that he has met with all of the hospital directors, and that the problem will be “resolved.”

Israeli Coronavirus Cases Again on the Rise
The Health Ministry reported there were 6,467 new case diagnosed on Sunday, including 99 new patients in critical condition from COVID-19, bringing the total of serious and critical condition patients to 675.

On Saturday, 20 people died from the virus, according to the Health Ministry, and 16 more died on Sunday as well.

The positivity rate as of Sunday was 6.31 percent, the highest ever. The grim news makes it clear the slow reduction in serious and critical cases — and in fact, daily diagnosed cases — was not a certain sign of improvement.


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Hana Levi Julian is a Middle East news analyst with a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from Southern Connecticut State University. A past columnist with The Jewish Press and senior editor at Arutz 7, Ms. Julian has written for Babble.com, Chabad.org and other media outlets, in addition to her years working in broadcast journalism.