Outdoor mask restriction lifted amid Israeli progress

Agencies | Tel Aviv

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Israeli residents are no longer required to wear a facial mask in public, another sign that the country might be putting the worst of the coronavirus pandemic behind it.

Stepping outside early on Sunday revealed multiple people underway without a mask, Deutsche press agency (dpa) reported.

However, the facial coverings are still required indoors, in areas where one comes into contacts with non-household members. That said, experts also think that rule might be lifted in a month thanks to sharply reduced case counts in the country.

Sunday also saw most schools completely open for the first time in a year, with pupils arranged in full classes, instead of in small groups. That said, masks are still required in classrooms.

Thanks to a brisk vaccination campaign, the number of newly reported cases has dropped. The number of people currently seriously sick due to Covid-19 stands at around 200. At the end of January, the figure was around 1,200.

About 5.3 million of the country's 9 million residents have received at least one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Nearly 5 million have received the full doses of two jabs.

However, the vaccination campaign has also stagnated, with about 1 million Israelis who are older than 16 still unvaccinated. Experts have warned that the country has still not achieved herd immunity.