The Israel Ministry of Health announced last April 17, 2021, that the wearing of facemask outdoors is no longer mandatory. The easing on the mandate to wear facemask started last Sunday, April 18.
Citizens of Israel took to the outdoors and finally had a chance to “breathe in” the fresh air without their masks on. The easing of the wearing of facemask outdoors came as a calculated risk decision by the Israeli government as the country has vaccinated 81% of their population above the age of 16 years old with Pfizer/BioNTech.
As a result, new cases of COVID-19, as well as hospitalizations, dropped sharply, evidence that the vaccine is effective in curbing the spread of the virus.
The wearing of facemasks, however, is still required indoors. Schools have reopened and students are back in their classrooms following pre-pandemic class schedules. Restrictions are in place for everyone in school, such as observance of physical distancing and wearing of facemasks inside the classrooms, as well as, the banning of any school events or gatherings.
According to the government of Israel, this is to protect their unvaccinated population, most of which are those under 16 years of age and are not qualified to take the vaccine.
Citizens are also asked to still wear their facemasks indoors and indoor gatherings are still restricted.
The entry of foreign nationals is still being restricted. While Israel citizens who are coming from abroad and are not yet immunized must self-isolate. This is because there is a possibility for new variants to subvert the vaccine.
As of the latest discovery, there several variants of COVID-19 that are still not fully explored, specifically on whether or not the vaccines are also effective against the new COVID-19 variants.
The easing of the rules of wearing facemasks outdoors is a sign that Israel is winning the fight against COVID-19. Their aggressive approach in the implementation of lockdowns, mass testing, and mass vaccination led to this, truly such efforts worth emulating.
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