People without masks walk on a street in Tel Aviv, Israel, on April 18, 2021. Israel on Sunday lifted the requirement to wear masks outside and fully reopened its education system, as the number of coronavirus cases continues to drop in the country. Israel's Ministry of Health reported 130 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, raising the total number in the country to 837,012. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua)
JERUSALEM, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Israel on Sunday lifted the requirement to wear masks outside and fully reopened its education system, as the number of coronavirus cases continues to drop in the country.
All students, from kindergarten to twelfth grade, returned to schools, the education ministry said in a statement. The "capsules," learning in small groups, were canceled, the ministry said.
The students and teachers still have to wear masks in class.
The mandatory mask-wearing in public spaces was canceled in the wake of a low number of diagnosed cases, the health ministry said in a statement.
"The masks are intended to protect us from the coronavirus. After professionals decided this was no longer required in open spaces, I decided to enable taking them off," Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said in the statement.
Israelis still have to wear masks in indoor spaces, such as supermarkets.
Israel launched a national vaccination campaign in December, 2020. Over 53 percent of the country's 9.3 million citizens have received both shots of the Pfizer vaccine.
As of Sunday, Israel has recorded a total of 836,926 cases and 6,334 death since the beginning of the pandemic in February 2020, according to official figures. Enditem
