Board a bus or the Jerusalem light rail and it’s evident that not everyone is on board with the new restrictions. There are plenty of people who aren’t wearing masks or are not wearing them properly.
Some people who are in favor of the restrictions said they trust the Health Ministry’s judgement. The ministry announced that they won’t focus on any additional restrictions besides this one. Instead, they will work to enforce existing quarantine mandates. Most of the cases in this new outbreak originated from people who violated quarantine rules after returning from abroad.
People feel strongly about protecting the public and hope that the government takes the necessary precautions to keep people safe.
“If [the government] is strict with [its] mask mandate and washing hands, there will be less transmission,” Yaakov, a resident of Jerusalem, said.
Wearing masks is only mandatory in closed spaces, according to the new law that went into effect Friday at noon. Former Health Minister Yuli Edelstein lifted the outdoor mask requirement on April 18, and the indoor mandate was lifted on June 15.
There are seven exemptions to wearing a mask indoors, including if someone is alone, below the age of seven, or is engaged in physical exercise. Being fully vaccinated is not one of the exceptions, as is the case in the United States.
However, some people are confident that vaccines curb the spread of the virus, particularly the Delta, or Indian, variant, something the Health Ministry confirmed recently.
“I have faith in the vaccine, but people need to be careful,” Pam, a Jerusalem resident who moved to Israel in October, said.
She also hoped that the restrictions will help life return to normal. Despite the uptick in cases, people are back on the streets and businesses are recovering after over a year of lockdowns.
In Tel Aviv, the Pride Parade happened as planned on Friday, despite the new law. Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz gave the event his blessing beforehand but told people to be safe. Over 100,000 people attended the parade, which was canceled last year because of the virus.
“It’s nice to see people doing things again,” Pam said.
Lockdowns and other restrictions hurt businesses this past year. However, an employee at Beer Bazaar, a bar in Machane Yehudah Market, felt that the revamped rules won’t harm business this time around.
“We got through corona,” she said. “We won’t go back to [what we went through].”
The bar is technically outdoors. However, Machane Yehudah can get crowded at night, and people need to remove their masks to eat and drink, increasing the risk of transmission. Eshed, a Jerusalem resident, said he’d even wear his mask outdoors, even if the law didn’t require it. However, the Health Ministry recommended people wear masks outdoors in crowded areas.
Not everyone was happy with the rules, however. Jerusalem resident Yosef Doneb called the law “excessive.”
“Many people have already been vaccinated, and there aren’t many people in serious condition,” he said.
Israel reported 113 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, and 0.4% of tests were coming back positive. 26 people were in serious condition and 17 were on ventilators. It is unknown whether any of these people have received the vaccine or previously had the virus.
57% of Israelis are fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data. The daily vaccination rate was at 0.09 doses per 100 people on Saturday, a slight increase after hovering around 0.04 doses per 100 people the week before.
Israel recently recommended all children ages 12-15 receive the vaccine, which is likely what’s causing the slight uptick in jabs. Many of the new cases have been in children and teenagers who haven’t been vaccinated.
Doneb, therefore, isn’t concerned with the new outbreak because he believed these numbers indicate that few people are in serious condition.
Eshed, Pam and Yaakov also agreed that the new outbreak isn’t concerning. However, they felt that way due to the mask law, and the protection they feel it will give Israelis as they navigate the newest chapter in the COVD-19 pandemic.
Rossella Tercatin and and Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman contributed to this report