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Israel has taken another step towards normalcy, canceling its open-air mask mandate on Sunday.
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The launch of the vaccine was remarkably fast, with more than half of the adults being fully vaccinated.
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The Israeli prime minister welcomed the progress, but warned that the virus “may return”.
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With more than half of its population completely vaccinated, Israel dropped its outdoor mask mandate on Sunday.
Masks are still needed in indoor public spaces, such as shops, malls and places of worship. But the change was a strong signal of the country’s progress against the pandemic, fueled by one of the world’s oldest and fastest vaccine launches.
The outdoor masking rule has been in place continuously for about a year.
On Monday, the country took another step towards a pre-COVID-19 reality, with schools reopening completely for the first time since September.
According to The New York Times vaccinations tracker, 60% of Israel’s population received a first dose of vaccine, while 56% had both. Israel’s population is about 9 million people.
The reduction under 16 years – which are not currently eligible for the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine – about 81% of Israelis have been fully vaccinated, Reuters reported.
Israel has overseen a rapid launch, and the effects appear to be showing. As Sam Sokol reported to Insider, this was made possible by the early provision of a large number of doses and the help of the country’s centralized, data-driven health system.
A flexible approach to the distribution of the remaining doses also reduced waste and accelerated things, as reported by Susie Nielson of Insider.
New daily cases peaked in late January and fell by hundreds in early April, according to Johns Hopkins University.
“We are leading the world right now when it comes to getting out of the coronavirus,” he told Reuters, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “[But] I’m not done with the coronavirus yet. He can come back. “
Israel began asking people to wear masks outdoors in April last year, according to Haaretz.
Despite the general jubilation at the end of the term, some people are slowly adapting and still choosing to keep their masks outdoors, Haaretz reported.
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