Health Ministry Director-General Prof. Chezy Levy signed an order on Friday designating all countries as “red,” forcing all Israeli travelers to enter quarantine upon arriving back in Israel, Channel 12 News reported.

The new orders apply to only three countries that were designated “green” until now, the United Arab Emirates, Seychelles and Rwanda.

Tens of thousands of Israelis have been traveling to Dubai in recent weeks, with about 70,000 said to have visited just over Chanukah. Many of them participated in gatherings with little or no social distancing and in fact, dozens of Israelis were forced to enter quarantine in Dubai last week after testing positive for the coronavirus.

However, until now Israel has refrained from designating the UAE as “red” due to fears of the move straining its newly formed diplomatic relations with the Gulf state.

The new requirement, which will solve the problem of Israelis carrying COVID-19 returning to Israel without slighting the UAE, will go into effect on December 26.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)