Despite the vaccination, Israel is facing a resurgence of the coronavirus. And as in many countries, the increase in pollution in recent weeks is related to the spread of the Delta variant. Therefore, the country’s authorities announced on Tuesday night the reestablishment of sanitary restrictions. These will enter into force on August 8, according to the official statement, after the ministerial cabinet meeting on crisis management.
The Hebrew State has thus decided to extend the obligation of the health pass to public places that gather less than 100 people in a closed place, as well as the mandatory use of the mask in outdoor places that gather more than 100 people. In addition, quarantine will be mandatory for people returning from most countries in the world, vaccinated or not. This quarantine period was shortened in mid-July to seven days instead of ten earlier, on the condition of a negative test.
Israel was one of the first countries to launch a mass vaccination campaign in mid-December under an agreement with the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, which quickly delivered millions of doses to the country in exchange for data on the effects of its vaccine developed with the BioNTech company. . . This campaign delivered two doses of the vaccine to more than 55% of the country’s population, and around 85% of adults, which resulted in the reopening of cafes, bars and stores and a reduction in the number of cases less than 100 per day vs. 10,000. at the height of the epidemic.
The country also launched a campaign on Friday for a third dose of vaccine for those over 60. More than 110,000 elderly people have received a third dose, according to data from the Ministry of Health. In the last 24 hours, Israel has registered 3,818 Covid-19 cases, a record since March, and the country has 422 people hospitalized, 221 of whom are in serious condition.