Coronavirus : restrictions for travelers from Switzerland

On March 9th 2020, the Government of Israel imposed a 14-day home quarantine order on all travellers coming from abroad.

• From March 9th 2020 20:00, all Israeli citizens and residents returning to Israel from any country must enter a 14-day home quarantine immediately upon their return.

• Non-Israeli citizens or residents, who visited Switzerland, Germany, France, Austria, Italy and other affected countries within 14 days before their arrival, will be prevented from entering Israel, unless they can prove that they can stay in home quarantine (not in hotels).

• From March 12th 2020 20:00, all other travellers will be prevented from entering Israel, unless they can prove that they can stay in home quarantine (not in hotels).

• In order to prove that they can enter home quarantine, foreign nationals are required to fill out the following form provided by the Israeli Embassy in Bern. The filled-out form must be submitted by email to info@bern.mfa.gov.il at least 5 working days before travelling to Israel.

• Everyone currently in home quarantine in accordance with previous instructions of the Ministry of Health is to continue their 14-day home quarantine.

• Travellers from Switzerland who entered Israel before March 6th 2020 8:00am are requested to act in accordance with the directives of the Ministry of Health published on its website:

  • If you do not feel well and/or develop symptoms of the virus (fever, cough, runny nose, head and chest pains), you are requested to immediately contact the MADA (Magen David Adom) services at the phone number 101.

  • Maintain a high level of hygiene and avoid hand shaking.

  • Avoid large crowds.

  • Document the course of your travel in Israel.

Others measures have also been issued. For more details on travel restrictions and quarantine procedures, please refer to the website of the Ministry of Health of the State of Israel. The Israeli Ministry of Health Hotline +972 (0)8-6241010 is available between 08:00 through 21:00 (Israel time) for questions about the novel coronavirus.

General advice

We also recommend that all Swiss nationals in Israel follow the recommendations of the Federal Office of Public Health (Switzerland), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the FDFA travel advice “Focus Corona Virus (2019-nCOV)”:

Federal Office of Public Health (Switzerland)

World Health Organization (WHO)

FDFA Travel Advice, Focus Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), in German, French, Italian

For urgent questions, please contact the FDFA Helpline (Tél. +41 800 24-7-365 / +41 58 465 33 33).