Israel is hoping that its world-leading vaccination programme will allow it to resume tourism later this year and is talking to Greece and Cyprus about reopening their borders.
The country, which has vaccinated a higher proportion of its citizens than any other, started to issue “green passport” certificates last week that show holders have been given two full doses of the vaccine, one of its diplomats in China said.
It is now trying to negotiate reciprocal arrangements with other countries to permit entry to those carrying the certificates.
Israel’s experience is likely to be closely watched around the world as it could become the first country to inoculate enough people to reach the ultimate goal of achieving herd immunity.
“What we are planning to do is to open a programme of green passports, which means everybody that’s been vaccinated could travel to other countries without the need for being tested before, during the visit or being quarantined after visiting the country,” said Yuval Waks, deputy chief of the Israeli mission in Beijing.
He said Greece could be the first country to sign such an agreement with Israel, followed by Cyprus because “it’s also good for their economy” and “tourists from Israel are eager to go”.
Waks continued that talks with China were at an early stage and media reports have suggested that countries in Europe such as Serbia and Romania may also take part in the scheme.
Israel has vaccinated more people per capita than any other country. More than 3.4 million people out of the nine million population have received a Covid-19 jab, including about two million who have received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Israel started vaccinating its elderly in December and has now extended the vaccination campaign to over-16s. It plans to inoculate 70 per cent of the population by the end of March or early April.
Tags: Israel, Israel tourism, green passport
