Corona cabinet decided to impose further restrictions: to wear masks in open spaces

The Corona Cabinet decided on Tuesday evening to impose further restrictions on the public in view of the increase in Corona morbidity, including the expansion of the green label outline. The public will be required to wear masks even in open spaces during gatherings. The list of countries from which returnees will be required to enter isolation has been expanded, even if we have been vaccinated before leaving for them. Most of the decisions will take effect next Sunday, August 8th. During the discussion, some of the ministers raised the possibility that another closure would be imposed on the public during the coming month.
The cabinet has ruled that the green label layout will be expanded starting next Friday for all ages and all locations, even those with a crowd of less than a hundred people. It was also decided that government ministries would move to a work-from-home format of at least 50%, and that this would be done as appropriately as possible in the entire public sector. The Cabinet also recommended that the private sector move to a work-from-home format.
The cabinet also ruled that an isolation obligation would apply to a vaccinated parent caring for a child under the age of 12 or a helpless person who was found to be infected with corona. The Cabinet also ordered increased enforcement of insulators and mask-wearers. The list of countries to which those leaving will be required to enter isolation upon their return to Israel will be expanded. The duty will be for both the vaccinated and the recovering from the corona. It was also decided that a limited list of "green" countries would be defined, the return of which would require isolation until a negative test result was obtained. The Cabinet also called for avoiding any gatherings in a closed space that is not necessary, and called on those aged 60 and over to avoid gatherings and encounters in a closed space with people who are not vaccinated.
During the debate, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned of the possibility of a closure. "If the public does not listen to our cries and get vaccinated, we will reach a state of closure. There will be no choice, even though we do not want to go into it," he said, stressing again the need to vaccinate 60-year-olds and young people who have not yet been vaccinated. Bennett referred to the rate of immunization and said that if it was not satisfactory, broader measures and more severe restrictions would be needed.
Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked supported his position. "If a million people cannot be vaccinated within a week, I support the closure immediately," she told the other ministers. Defense Minister Bnei Gantz said that the public should be prepared for the option of a closure in September, since this is "a month in which the economic damage will be less," and that in this way it will be possible to accelerate the vaccination campaign and strengthen information. According to Ganz, the defense establishment is stepping up forces to assist in the effort, and hundreds of medics have been recruited during the week to bolster the HMOs.
The Minister of Innovation and Science, Orit Farkash HaCohen, said at the hearing that "zero tolerance" should be exercised towards those who choose not to be vaccinated. "I am in favor of 100% living alongside the Corona, in favor of 100% war on the economy and business and zero patience for those who do not get vaccinated and do not practice mutual guarantee," she said. "We came to this situation because of the unvaccinated. This is the position of all the experts who are now not only endangering themselves but also those who have been vaccinated."
The discussion came against the background of the continued rise in morbidity. The Ministry of Health updated yesterday morning that 3,818 people have been found verified in Corona in the last day, a record for the current wave of morbidity. The number of subjects was 113,723 people, and the rate of positive tests - 3.78%, a record in the fourth wave.
The number of patients in critical condition remained stable: 221 people, 46 of whom were connected to respirators. In all, 6,492 people died from corona in Israel