A passenger arrives to a terminal at Ben Gurion international airport before Israel bans international flights, January 25, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

i24 News – On Thursday, Israel’s health ministry announced its recommendation to end the country’s red travel ban list at midnight.

The removal of the red countries list will allow Israelis to travel to previously prohibited destinations — like the United States, Canada, and other nations deemed high-risk COVID-19 hotspots.

The final decision remains subject to government approval.

“Despite the change, it should be noted that in many countries around the world, the morbidity situation is higher than in Israel, and therefore it is advisable to avoid unnecessary travel to these places as much as possible,” the ministry’s official Twitter account explained.

A number of states are now facing a surge of COVID infections — driven by the omicron variant — within their borders.

Israel tallied a record-breaking number of new daily COVID-19 cases on Thursday, reporting a total of 16,115 new patients contracted the virus.
A total of 41 patients are also on ventilators, according to data provided by the country’s health ministry.

Experts estimate that Israel will reach the peak of its fifth COVID wave within three weeks.

On Monday, the US additionally reported nearly 1 million daily infections, setting a new global record.

The circulation of the virus prompted mass flight cancellations worldwide as omicron-related sick calls drove staffing shortages across the world’s airlines.