According to an insider, the US government is working on plans that in future only people who have been completely vaccinated against Corona will be allowed to enter the country. This is a prerequisite for the possible lifting of the entry restrictions, said a government employee of the Reuters news agency. In view of the increasing number of cases, however, there is no immediate lifting of the restrictions.
There is still no specific timetable for the introduction of the obligation to provide evidence, as reported by the New York Times, citing White House circles, among others. According to media reports, the practical implementation of the plan is still relatively unclear, including the question of which vaccination certificates and which vaccines are recognized.
According to the reports, it has not yet been decided whether the US authorities would only accept vaccinations with preparations that are also approved in the USA. An alternative would be to make approval by the World Health Organization (WHO) the benchmark. The vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer / Biontech and Johnson & Johnson have so far been approved in the USA.
Since last year, there has been a far-reaching US entry ban for people from Europe due to the pandemic. The only exceptions are US citizens and a few other groups of people such as close relatives of Americans, diplomats and employees of international organizations. Entries from China, South Africa and Brazil are also limited to exceptions. All passengers must show a negative corona test when entering the USA.
Israel threatens further lockdown
In view of the increasing corona infections in Israel, a senior official in the Ministry of Health no longer considers a lockdown to be impossible before the end of the month. “At the moment I would not impose a lockdown,” said Nachman Ash, director general of the Ministry of Health, on Thursday on the military broadcaster. But if the persistently high number of new infections remains, “we will have to make a different decision in two or three weeks”.
Ash hopes that the third vaccination for people over 60 and the measures decided by the cabinet will take effect, as more than 3,000 new infections per day have been registered in Israel for three consecutive days. According to the Ministry of Health, 250 patients were seriously ill. In Israel, about 58 percent of the population of 9.3 million people are vaccinated. More than 262,000 people have already received a third vaccination.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Thursday appealed to all over 60s who have not yet received a third vaccination to be extra careful in the coming weeks. Crowds should be avoided, as well as contact with potentially infected people.
