Israel’s indoor mask mandate ends after two years

By Trend

Israel’s indoor mask mandate, one of the few remaining coronavirus restrictions still in place, was lifted on Saturday, Trend reports citing The Times of Israel.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz had agreed that the widely flouted masking requirement will be scrapped, citing the decline in morbidity.

The mandate had officially been set to expire on May 1.

The Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement that masking will still be required “at places with high contagion potential,” among which it listed hospitals, senior living facilities, and during air travel.

Since masking rules were first imposed in April 2020, Israelis have been required to wear face coverings indoors for all but 10 days in June last year, when the mandate was briefly lifted before being swiftly brought back amid surging cases at the time.