Israel has decided to reimpose the mandatory wearing of masks in enclosed public spaces owing to a rise in Covid-19 cases just 10 days after the measure was lifted.
After registering zero cases earlier this month, the mask mandate was lifted 10 days ago, but with seeing more than 100 cases a day for several days, it was decided to take a step back.
Most of the new cases are of the Delta variant, originally identified in India. The head of Israel’s pandemic response task force, Nachman Ash, told public radio on Friday that mask mandates in most indoor situations would be reinstated from noon today, according to The Guardian.
“We are seeing a doubling every few days,” Ash said on Friday. “Another thing that’s worrying is the infections are spreading. If we had two cities where most of the infections were, we have more cities where the numbers are rising and communities where the cases are going up.”
The reimposition of the mask mandate is a real setback for Isreal, one of the most successful countries in the world in tackling the pandemic. Israel also had the world’s fastest vaccination program, under which well over half the population of 9.3 million has been partially or fully vaccinated, reports the BBC.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines were procurred under a special deal with the drugmakers in which Israel received early supplies in exchange for sharing health data on the vaccines’ impact.
But Israel has also received criticism for not vaccinating most Palestinians living in the West Bank or in the Gaza Strip, which is under Israeli blockade. Only 270,000 Palestinians have received two doses, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
This week, Israel also delayed plans to allow the renewed entry of individual tourists and said other steps may have to be taken to counter the spread of the Delta variant. Israeli media has speculated there may be a return to limiting numbers on gatherings.
