Health Ministry Recommends New Round of Restrictions

Israel was poised for another round of restrictions on Sunday aimed at stemming the spread of the coronavirus in both public and private venues.

The Health Ministry said that starting on Wednesday limits on gatherings will be reimposed, along with a return to social distancing, pending approval by the cabinet and Knesset.

The Green Pass system will be extended to require certification of vaccination, recovery from Covid, or a negative PCR test in the previous 72 hours in: sports and culture events, conferences, exhibitions, hotels, gyms, pools, event halls and venues, festivals, restaurants, bars, cafes, dining rooms, museums, libraries, tourist attractions, and universities.

Green Pass rules will be in effect for anyone aged 3 and up. The state will fund COVID tests for those aged 3-11, while the rest of the tests will be out-of- pocket.

Private gatherings will have a maximum of 100 attendees outdoors and 50 indoors, while in event venues, the cap will be 500 outdoors, 400 indoors. Additionally, no event can exceed 75 percent of the venue’s full capacity.

Mass events where there are no marked seating spots will be capped at 1,000 people indoors and 5,000 people outdoors.

Masks will be mandatory in all closed spaces, apart from one’s place of residence, as well as in outdoor gatherings of at least 100 people.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry reported 36 additional COVID-19 deaths as of Sunday morning, bringing the national toll of the pandemic to 6,668.

Active cases are down to 47,675; serious cases remain almost unchanged at 525.

There have been 2,970 cases diagnosed so far on Sunday.