The Israel Association of Travel Agencies and Consultants, the Moreshet Derech tour guides' organization, and the Israel Hotel Association, which have petitioned the High Court of Justice against the stringent travel bans to and from Israel, filed on Tuesday evening a response to the government's answer to their petition.
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The groups said that the government's policy of limited entry and departures to and from Israel will do nothing to stop the spread of the Omicron COVID variant, and included an opinion from former Deputy Director of the Health Ministry Professor Itamar Grotto.
Grotto wrote that publicly reported data made it clear that the Omicron variant was already spreading in the community in Israel. Grotto argued that it was reasonable to assume that more confirmed Omicron cases had been contracted through community contact than through carriers who entered Israel.
According to Grotto, there is no epidemiological justification for the government's policy of shutting down air travel.
Moreover, the petitioners said, the decision to cancel mandatory quarantine for vaccinated Israelis who were exposed to confirmed Omicron carriers also mandated a cancellation of quarantine for vaccinated Israelis and Israelis who have recovered from COVID who return from abroad.
"Since the written position was submitted, my opinion has only grown stronger that there is no reason to limit travel to 'red' countries, or limit entry for vaccinated tourists or force vaccinated Israelis returning from abroad to quarantine. The spread of Omicron in the community justifies that travel restrictions be lifted, in accordance with the government's own position," Grotto wrote.
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