A large number of Israelis crowded shopping malls, gyms and swimming pools on Sunday after the country began to reverse some of the main restrictions imposed as part of its third blockade in late December to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Television reports showed that crowds hit shopping centers to take advantage of their first opportunity to browse stores in several weeks.
Although buyers widely adhered to health guidelines, in some cases people flocked and did not maintain social distance.
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As of Sunday, street shops, malls, markets, museums and libraries are open to all Israelis.
Those who were vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 were able to enter gyms, sporting and cultural events, hotels and swimming pools, although the “Green Pass” computer system crashed repeatedly, prompting the Ministry of Health to announce vaccination certificates. used as evidence until it was working properly.
Israelis shop at Ayalon Mall in Ramat Gan after it was reopened following the blockade of thirteen coronaviruses in the country on February 21, 2021. (Avshalom Sassoni / Flash90)
The reopenings came amid a continuing decline in morbidity, particularly among high-risk groups, which are largely credited to Israel’s rapid vaccination campaign.
More than 4.3 million Israelis received their first dose of vaccine, and more than 2.9 million received both vaccines, out of the country’s population of about 9 million, the Ministry of Health said on Sunday. About 3 million Israelis are not eligible for vaccination, including minors under 16 and people who have recovered from COVID-19, among others.
The Ministry of Health said on Saturday that the coronavirus vaccines were “dramatically” effective and the latest data show that the vaccines were 98.9% effective in preventing death from COVID-19.
However, speaking to Army Radio on Sunday morning, coronavirus czar Nachman Ash said the vaccine’s impact should not be taken as a license to throw caution to the wind.
Coronavirus Tsar Nachman Ash at a vaccination center in Herzliya, December 20, 2020 (Flash90)
“I am happy to see the data, but they must be treated with care so that the public is not mistaken and thinks that it is possible to behave as they wish,” he said.
The Military Intelligence task force said on Sunday that Israel’s R-value, the reproduction number of the virus that measures transmission, or the number of new cases resulting from each coronavirus infection, fell from 0.85 last week to 0.79.
Health officials stated that an R number below 0.8 was necessary to loosen restrictions.
The announcement came at a time when the Ministry of Health reported that another 1,240 people were diagnosed with the virus on Saturday. There tend to be fewer new cases after the weekend due to reduced test levels.
The ministry said 857 people were in serious condition, including 273 using ventilators, and the death toll was 5,569.
In addition to opening trade, classes 5 to 6 and 11 to 12 were allowed to resume face-to-face classes in cities with low or medium infection and high vaccination rates. Kindergartens and grades 1 through 4 have previously been opened in cities designated as low infection “green” and “yellow” in the government’s color-coded system for morbidity rates.
Grades 7-10 across the country are expected to continue remote learning for at least two more weeks and Health Ministry Director-General Chezy Levy told public broadcaster Kan on Sunday morning that all students would return to school on March 7.
“We wanted to open things up carefully, not to put all students together at school and cause infection and morbidity,” he said.
Students return to school at the Gabrieli Carmel School in Tel Aviv on February 11, 2021. (Avshalom Sassoni / Flash90)
Infection rates among children and the reopening of schools are a central concern during the outbreak of the third wave virus in Israel. Children represent a higher proportion of infections than at the beginning of the pandemic, possibly due to new variants of the virus and the fact that a significant portion of adults have been vaccinated.
Levy said Israel planned to vaccinate children as soon as the vaccine was authorized for them, but did not give a deadline.
The vaccine has not yet been approved for children under 16, although Israel has vaccinated dozens who suffer from specific COVID-19 risk factors. No serious side effects have been reported.
The decisions come amid a continuing decline in morbidity, particularly among high-risk groups, which is being largely credited to Israel’s rapid vaccination campaign.
