A cabinet meeting held on October 25, approved the Tourism Ministry's initiative to define the city of Eilat and the Dead Sea area as "green tourism islands".
As was reported in the Jerusalem Post, "the coronavirus cabinet will be allowed to declare the city of Eilat and the hotel complex surrounding the Dead Sea as 'special tourist areas'.
Entry into the green tourist areas, which house around 30% of the country's hotel rooms, will be conditional on the presentation of an up-to-date negative coronavirus test. The outline will allow the opening of hotels there while adhering to Health Ministry distancing guidelines."
UPDATE FROM NOVEMBER 12:
Book your Eilat break...! Hotels should open next week.
"Hotels in Eilat and the Dead Sea will be able to reopen after the Knesset last night passed the Tourist Islands Law with 26 MKs voting in favor and none against. The path of the legislation was not smooth with Minister of Health Yuli Edelstein withdrawing it earlier in the week after the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justrice Committee introduced an amendment that would have allowed more cities to be added to the legislation. After a frantic round of meetings and attempts at mediation, the law was passed in its original format allowing only hotels in Eilat and the Dead Sea to reopen.
Guests entering Eilat or the Ein Bokek hotel zone by the Dead Sea will be required to show a negative Covid-19 test from the previous 72 hours. Residents and hotel workers will be required to show a negative test once a week when entering Eilat or Ein Bokek.
Minister of Health Yuli Edelstein said, "This law is designed to save Eilat in the way that we have also succeeded in helping hotels in the Dead Sea region. I'm happy that all the attempts to put other issues into this law did not succeed."
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