JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel reopened swathes of its economy on Sunday in what is called the start of a return to routine enabled by a COVID-19 vaccination drive that has reached nearly half the population.
Whereas retailers were open to all, access to leisure sites like gyms and theatres was limited to vaccinees or those that have recovered from the disease with presumed immunity, a so-called “Green Pass” standing displayed on a special Health Ministry app.
Social distancing measures were still in drive. Dancing was barred at banquet halls, and synagogues, mosques, or churches have been required to halve their regular number of worshippers.
Coming exactly a yr after Israel’s first documented coronavirus case, Sunday’s easing of curbs is a part of a government plan to open the economy more widely next month when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is up for reelection.
Israel has administered at least one dose of the Pfizer Inc vaccine to more than 45% of its 9 million population, the Health Ministry says. The two-shot regimen has lowered COVID-19 infections by 95.8%, ministry data confirmed.
The nation has logged more than 740,000 cases and 5,500 deaths from the sickness, prompting criticism of the Netanyahu government’s sometimes patchy enforcement of three national lockdowns. It has pledged that there will not be a fourth.
Elementary schoolers and pupils within the final two years of high school attended classes on Sunday in Israeli towns found to have contagion rates under control. Middle schoolers are due back by next month, after almost a yr of distance learning.
