Rapid Surge in Israel's Delta Variant Cases... Restoration of Indoor Mask-Wearing Mandate

[Photo by Xinhua News Agency]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Israel, which declared the first indoor 'no mask' policy worldwide on the 15th, re-mandated indoor mask-wearing on the 26th, just over 10 days later. This is due to a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases centered around the 'Delta variant.' The Israeli Ministry of Health announced that indoor mask-wearing would be re-mandated starting from the 27th, but due to the severity of the surge in cases, the reinstatement was moved up by one day.

According to local media such as The Jerusalem Post on the 26th (local time), the Israeli Ministry of Health mandated indoor mask-wearing nationwide starting at noon that day. Accordingly, all residents and foreigners, except children under 7 years old, disabled persons who have difficulty wearing masks, two-person office workers, and those living independently, must wear masks in all indoor public places except their homes. Additionally, non-infected individuals visiting or working at hospitals and welfare institutions, as well as those subject to self-quarantine, are required to wear masks outdoors as well. Furthermore, the Ministry of Health recommended wearing masks at outdoor events if many people gather.

Israel's new confirmed cases were 125 on the 21st, 110 on the 22nd, 138 on the 23rd, and jumped to 227 on the 24th, marking four consecutive days of triple-digit cases. The positive rate among all tests was 0.6%.

Dr. Nachman Ash, Israel's COVID-19 response chief, told the public broadcaster Kan that although the number of regions with rapidly increasing new cases is growing, it is not considered another wave, and thanks to the high vaccination rate, severe cases are not occurring in large numbers.

In fact, the total number of active infections, which have not yet recovered, increased to 984 due to the recent surge in new cases, but severe cases remain only 27.

Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of the Public Health Services under the Ministry of Health, said, "About 50% of the 891 new cases reported in the past month were among those who had completed two doses of vaccination."

The Israeli government plans to hold the first COVID-19 ministerial meeting after the new coalition government is launched on the 27th to discuss additional measures.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.