The U.S. State Department on Monday lowered its travel advisory rating for Israel to “Level 3: Rethink Travel” – just days after it had raised it.
Last week, the State Department added 119 nations to the 34 nations listed at its highest “Level 4: Do Not Travel” rating, out of about 209 destinations listed.
The nations added included the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Israel, Mexico, and Germany, and cited a “very high level of COVID-19”. The advisories are recommendations to American citizens and are not binding.
The State Department said last week the move to list more nations at Level 4 didn’t imply a reassessment of current health situations, but rather “an adjustment within the State Department’s Travel Advisory system to rely more on (the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s) existing epidemiological assessments.”
Asked to explain the decision to change Israel’s level, a State Department official stated its advisories “take into account the newest data and public health and safety analysis on COVID-19 related risks.”
Over 81 percent of the population in Israel is aged 16 and above and this age group has been vaccinated using the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. The result has been a drastic reduction in contagions and hospitalizations.
