Israel announced today that it wants to gradually ease the health gap, although it was one of the first countries to implement this system to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
From Sunday, February 7, the health pass given to the vaccinated or those who have recovered from the coronavirus, will no longer be required to enter cafes, restaurants, bars, gyms or hotels, the Ministry of Health underlined.
The government will publish a complete list of places where the health pass will continue to be requested, clarified a representative of the Ministry of Health. The easing of the measures takes place at a time when the Jewish state, which had launched a major vaccination campaign in December 2020 and introduced the health pass since February 2021, is recording a record of infections due to the spread of the Omicron variant.
Nearly 60,000 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported in the last 24 hours and 2,618 patients are being treated, according to data from the Ministry of Health. According to epidemiologist Nadav Davinovic, a member of the committee of experts advising the government, “keeping the health card in its current form can create false guarantees” for health. Sanitation “does not reduce infections indoors like in theaters.
“It should be used primarily for high-risk places such as hospitals, nursing homes or events where you can eat, sing and dance.” However, removing it would be “wrong,” said Davidovic, who is also director of the Ben Gurion University School of Public Health in the southern Negev desert.
The pass will be required to enter “high-risk” events such as the holidays, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced late Tuesday night, saying that PCR molecular tests will no longer be mandatory for departing travelers. from Israel.
In addition to Israel, infections are also rising in the occupied West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority announced the closure of schools for 10 days starting Thursday.
