Israel drops indoor face masks after successful vaccination

The Israeli Ministry of Health has lifted the mandatory wearing of masks on the premises from Tuesday, June 15, due to the low incidence of COVID-19, Report informs.

"The Director-General of the Ministry of Health, Professor Hezi Levy, has signed an amendment to the public health order canceling the obligation to wear masks from Tuesday, June 15," the ministry's press service said in a statement.

However, there are exceptions in some cases. It will be mandatory to wear masks for quarantine patients, senior staff, and patients. The special instructions will be prepared for medical staff to wear a mask when in contact with patients.

In recent days, Israel has recorded only a few COVID-19 cases across the country.

The country started the mass vaccination of the population against COVID-19 on December 20 last year. From January 10, the vaccinated began to receive a second dose. More than 5.4 million people received the first dose, while more than 5.1 million got the second shot. In early June, the country began to vaccinate adolescents aged 12 to 15.