As of Sunday, 4,929,084 Israelis had received a single dose and 3,716,439 Israelis both doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, according to Health Ministry data. Morbidity stood at 4.3 percent on Saturday, down from slightly over 10 percent in January.
Israel reopened its economy and secondary schools on Sunday as the country started to return to normal following its successful vaccination programme.
The Israeli cabinet approved a list of measures easing restrictions on Saturday evening, just hours before they were due to take effect. They included allowing restaurants, coffee shops and event halls to open with restrictions, as well as permitting gatherings of up to 20 people inside and 50 outside.
Under the new regulations, restrictions are further lifted on travel into and out of the country, public gatherings and the education system.
All Israeli citizens and permanent residents are now once again able to enter the country, although the daily entry limit has been set at 3,000 with that number to be attained gradually throughout the week, according to an official statement. Up to 1,000 people were to be allowed to enter on Sunday.
Designated flights for new immigrants whose immigration cannot be delayed, essential foreign workers and professional athletes shall not count toward the entry quota, the statement said.
Those arriving from abroad will still need to enter quarantine, but will now be allowed to do so at home instead of at previously required “quarantine hotels.”
Those with vaccination or recovery certificates (a “Green Pass”) will be able to exit Israel freely, except via the Taba crossing, which will be closed, according to the statement.
In addition to those already operating to and from New York and Frankfurt, regular flights will resume to and from Paris, London, Kyiv, Toronto and Hong Kong, with airlines being obligated on pain of fine to provide Israel’s Transportation Ministry with passenger lists on demand for epidemiological investigation.
Other measures of the third phase of the lockdown exit include:
- Hotels can open and operate at 50 per cent capacity and culture and sport events, houses of prayer and convention centres can host gatherings of up to 500 people indoors, and up to 750 people in open-air spaces.
- Departing passengers who are not vaccinated will have to obtain approval from an exemptions committee in order to leave Israel.
- Israel has begun operating a dual certificate programme that permits citizens certain access depending on their stage in the vaccination process or whether they have recovered from COVID-19.
- A Green certificate will allow free access to gyms/exercise studios, swimming pools, restaurants and cafés, hotels, stadiums, sporting grounds, movie theatres and culture venues and exhibitions. Restaurants and other facilities that comply with the purple certificate requirements will be allowed to offer outdoor dining.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s campaign strategy has been to get the country as close to normal before the election on 23 March.
The government’s coronavirus manager Nachman Ash urged citizens to exercise restraint with the reopening of the economy. He told daily newspaper Yediot Ahronot: “It is not over. We must continue to be careful, keeping social distance and wearing masks. We have a way until it is over.”
As of Sunday, 4,929,084 Israelis had received a single dose and 3,716,439 Israelis both doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, according to Health Ministry data. Morbidity stood at 4.3 percent on Saturday, down from slightly over 10 percent in January.
Less than three percent of seriously ill patients had received both doses of the vaccine, reported Ynet, which also quoted the Health Ministry as saying that no one who died from the disease in February had been vaccinated.