While Hungary orders closing, Israel is taking steps to reopen

Israel has almost emerged from its COVID-19 closures, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on the campaign trail, said on Sunday as restaurants reopened under an exit plan fuelled by fast-paced vaccinations.

But health officials cautioned that rising contagions could trigger another lockdown – a possible dampener on Netanyahu’s hope of parlaying his pandemic policies to victory in a March 23 ballot.

“Restaurants are coming back to life,” Netanyahu said after he and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion clinked mugs and tucked into pastries outside at a park cafe.

“We still have to watch ourselves, we have to wear masks, keep distances that people require, social distances – but we’re coming out of it, and there’s not much more,” he told Reuters.

As 53% of Israelis having received at least one dose of the Pfizer Inc vaccine, according to Health Ministry data, the government has been gradually reopening businesses, schools and the country’s main airport with caps on capacity.

According to some statistics, Israel is the most vaccinated nation in the world by vaccine doses per capita. Some leisure venues have limited access to customers who can prove COVID immunity with a so-called “Green Pass” issued by the Health Ministry, in what officials hope will win over Israelis still reluctant to get vaccinated.