TEL AVIV – Israel has lifted restrictions on most trade and public activities, opened shopping malls, markets and museums – and used a pass to document the vaccination status of some activities.
Sunday’s movements illustrate how Israel, which implemented the world’s fastest vaccination campaign Covid-19, combines incentives and threats to get the rest of its population vaccinated – and how it learned from mistakes.
The nation has been reopened after some of the worst infection rates for months, as many barricaded lock-up walls took place, and more recently a British variant of the disease has been booming. Commercial activities largely came to a halt. ‘For rent’ signs have increased on the once busy beach roads of this city.
The opening and use of what officials call green passports, which allows people to enter gyms and hotels and eventually undertake quarantine travel, sets up a test for one of the countries most watched during the pandemic: Can Israel return to relative normalcy without falling back to the highest infection rates and overwhelming the healthcare system?
To achieve the balance, officials warn those avoiding the national vaccination campaign that they will be shut down outside of everyday activities. “Everyone who is not vaccinated will be left behind,” said Health Minister Yuli Edelstein.