Israeli prime minister cracks down after pilgrims falsify test results
New rules will be enforced after some Israelis with COVID-19 returned to the country from Ukraine using forged negative test results.
Israel’s prime minister is cracking down on people entering the country with COVID-19 after some infected Rosh Hashanah pilgrims used phony test results.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s directives followed Israeli media reports that dozens of COVID-positive people flew back to Israel on Thursday from Uman, Ukraine, using fake negative test results. Every Jewish new year, thousands of Hasidic Jews go to the Eastern European city to visit the grave of the influential Rabbi Nachman. Bennett’s statement specifically referenced the travelers from Uman.
Anyone with the coronavirus who is found to have entered Israel under false pretenses will be referred to the Israeli police. They will also be subject to a criminal investigation, and the charges may include fraud, forgery and willfully spreading a disease. Such people will also be evacuated to their homes or a hotel at their own expense, among other measures, Bennett’s office said in a statement Thursday.
All travelers to Israel must present a negative PCR test taken within the past 72 hours, per Ministry of Health guidelines.
