Coronavirus: Cabinet decides against lifting some Green Pass restrictions

• Author: ROSSELLA TERCATIN
• Published date: 04 October 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Only museums and municipal libraries will be exempt from enforcement.

The cabinet, which convened for the first time in over a month, did not vote on the Health Ministry's recommendation to abolish the system for several outdoor activities.

"The good news is that we are starting to block the Delta variant, but right now it's dangerous to relax," Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said while opening the meeting. "When the virus begins to recede, we must not allow it to resurge."

Bennett said that the Israeli public was beginning to understand the government's strategy and its goal: to keep the country as open as possible but at the same time to pursue measures such as vaccination, masks and mass testing.

During the meeting, the government officials discussed the current situation, including a report by Hebrew University experts attesting to a decline in cases in all sectors.

Earlier in the day, the Health Ministry extended the validity of the current Green Pass until Thursday as both the "traffic light" website and app where Israelis can download their new pass crashed due to an overload of traffic.

According to the new rules that came into effect on Sunday, only people who were inoculated with a booster, received their second dose or recovered, all within the previous six months, or got a shot after recovering from the disease can obtain the Green Pass.

As a result, over 1.5 million Israelis lost their eligibility – also considering that the document is only valid a full week after the second or booster shot.

The Green Pass grants access to several venues and activities, as well as to some workplaces. A temporary one can be obtained by undergoing a test.

All individuals who are eligible are required to download the new document. According to the ministry, by 5 p.m. around 1.03 million green passes had already been obtained.

Also on Sunday, the number of serious patients dropped to 575, confirming the trend downward.

Some 1,709 new cases...