Israelis went about barefaced today after the order to wear masks outdoors was rescinded in another step towards relative normality thanks to the country's mass-vaccination against Covid-19.
With about 81% of citizens or residents over 16 - the age group eligible for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in Israel - having received both doses, contagions and hospitalisations are down sharply.
But entry by foreigners is still limited and non-immune Israelis who return from abroad must self-isolate, due to concern virus variants could challenge the vaccine.
The Health Ministry said it had detected seven cases of a new Indian variant in Israel, whose potency was being assessed. "We are leading the world right now when it comes to emerging from the