Coronavirus Commissioner Professors Salman Zarka said Wednesday he expected Israel's indoor mask mandate to be lifted within months if the current trajectory of the pandemic continues.
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"I believe that this summer will be mask-free. If a new variant does not appear in the next two or three months, we will discuss easing more restrictions," he told reporters.
He stressed that he was concerned about the large gathering in the upcoming Passover holiday.
"Despite all our efforts, there will be an increase in the reproduction rate in April, which is concerning," he said, referring to the measure used to indicate the degree to which the virus is spreading in a community. Zarka called on the public to get vaccinated, because "3,000 injections a day is not enough" and added that he was particularly concerned about the impact on at-risk populations.
The indoor mask mandate has been in place since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020, except for a brief two-week period in the summer of 2021.
On Wednesday morning, the Health Ministry reported 9,332 new cases in Israel. Altogether, 59,586 Israelis were tested for the virus in the past 24 hours, which puts the positivity rate at 15.66%.
There are 60,366 active cases in the country with 736 patients hospitalized. Of those, 260 are in serious condition.
Thus far, 768,818 Israelis have been vaccinated with four doses, 4,479,534 with three.
Israel has reported 3,971,172 cases, including 10,554 deaths, since the outbreak of the pandemic.
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