Israel reopens border crossing with Egypt for first time since pandemic

Israel on Tuesday reopened border crossings with Egypt for the first time since the pandemic began, The Associated Press reported.

Beginning on Tuesday, up to 300 Israeli citizens per day are permitted to travel to and from the Sinai Peninsula for tourism, the AP reported. They must test negative for the coronavirus before crossing the border each trip or prove that they have been vaccinated.

According to The Times of Israel, travelers are only permitted to journey between Sunday to Thursday and must move by foot.

Taba border crossings were stopped in March 2020 at the onset of the coronavirus, the AP noted. Before the pandemic set in, the Sinai Peninsula was a popular tourism destination for Israeli travelers.

According to data from The New York Times, Israel currently leads the world’s vaccination effort, with 53 percent of its population fully inoculated.

Earlier this month Pfizer, one of the manufacturers of a leading COVID-19 vaccine, announced that its vaccine was extremely effective at preventing severe disease, based on analysis and data from Israel.

According to the World Health Organization, Israel has recorded more than 831,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 6,100 deaths.