Israel Terminates Indoor Mask Mandate

Israel on Tuesday lifted its final coronavirus-era restriction, ending its indoor mask-wearing mandate one month after removing the outdoor decree. The only exceptions remaining are for staff and visitors at hospitals, nursing homes, and on airlines, and those on their way into isolation. On Monday, just 25 new infections were registered, continuing a weekslong trend of single to low double digits in new daily cases. Fewer than 0.1% of all tests have returned positive over the past month. There are currently 206 Israelis hospitalized with the virus, 30 of them in serious condition, thanks to nearly 65% of the public receiving at least one of the two required vaccine doses. On Monday, incoming Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz thanked outgoing minister Yuli Edelstein for his efforts during the pandemic and promised to “preserve and strengthen” the nation’s health system. “This crisis has claimed lives, paralyzed an entire country, Jews and Arabs, men and women. We have immense challenges ahead of us,” Horowitz said.