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Large numbers of Israelis filled shopping malls, gyms and swimming pools on Sunday after the country began lowering some of the key restrictions imposed as part of its third lockdown in late December to curb the spread of COVID-19.
TV reports have shown crowds hitting malls to take advantage of their first opportunity to browse stores for several weeks.
Although buyers have largely adhered to the health guidelines, in some cases people have been seen in a hurry and not maintaining their social distancing.
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From Sunday, street shops, malls, markets, museums and libraries are open to all Israelis.
Those who have been vaccinated or who have recovered from COVID-19 have been able to enter gyms, sporting and cultural events, hotels and swimming pools, although the computer system “Green Pass” has repeatedly crashed, this which led the Department of Health to be used as proof until it is working properly.
Israelis shop at the Ayalon Mall in Ramat Gan after it reopens after the country was locked against the coronavirus on February 21, 2021 (Avshalom Sassoni / Flash90)
The reopenings came against a backdrop of continued declining morbidity, especially among high-risk groups, which is largely attributed to Israel’s rapid vaccination campaign.
More than 4.3 million Israelis have received their first dose of the vaccine and more than 2.9 million have received both vaccines, among the country’s population of around 9 million, the health ministry said on Sunday. About 3 million Israelis are currently not eligible for vaccination, including those under 16 and people who have recovered from COVID-19, among others.
The Department of Health said on Saturday that the coronavirus vaccines were “dramatically” effective and the latest data shows the vaccines to be 98.9% effective in preventing deaths from COVID-19.
However, speaking to army radio on Sunday morning, coronavirus czar Nachman Ash said the impact of the vaccine should not be taken as a license to throw caution to the wind.
Coronavirus tsar Nachman Ash in a vaccination center in Herzliya, December 20, 2020 (Flash90)
“I’m happy to see the data, but it needs to be treated with care so that the public doesn’t get it wrong and think it’s possible to behave the way you want,” he said.
The Military Intelligence Task Force said on Sunday that Israel’s R-value, the number of reproductions of the virus that measures transmission, or the number of new cases resulting from each coronavirus infection, rose from 0.85 by week last at 0.79.
Health officials have said an R-number of less than 0.8 is needed to ease the restrictions.
The announcement came as the health ministry said 1,240 more people were diagnosed with the virus on Saturday. There are usually fewer new cases after the weekend due to the reduction in testing.
The ministry said 857 people were in serious condition, including 273 on ventilators, and the death toll stood at 5,569.
In addition to opening up the business, students in grades 5-6 and 11-12 have been allowed to resume face-to-face classes in low-infection towns or in medium-infected towns with high rates of infection. high vaccination. Kindergartens and grades 1 through 4 have already opened in cities designated as low infection “green” and “yellow” in the government color-coding system for disease rates.
Students in Grades 7-10 across the country are expected to continue distance learning for at least two more weeks, and Health Department Director General Chezy Levy told Kan’s public broadcaster Sunday morning that all students would return to school on March 7.
“We wanted to open things carefully, not to put all the students together in the school and cause infections and morbidity,” he said.
Students return to school at Gabrieli Carmel School in Tel Aviv on February 11, 2021 (Avshalom Sassoni / Flash90)
Infection rates among children and school reopens are a central concern during Israel’s third wave virus outbreak. Children represent a greater proportion of infections than at the start of the pandemic, possibly due to newer variants of the virus and the fact that a significant proportion of adults have been vaccinated.
Levy said Israel plans to vaccinate children as well once the vaccine is cleared for them, but did not give a schedule.
The vaccine has not yet been approved for children under 16, although Israel has vaccinated dozens of them who suffer from specific risk factors for COVID-19. No serious side effects have been reported.
The decisions come against a backdrop of continued declining morbidity, especially among high-risk groups, which is largely attributed to Israel’s rapid vaccination campaign.
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