Israel re-imposes indoor face mask mandate

Tel Aviv, June 26 The Israeli Ministry of Health has re-imposed the mandate to wear a face mask indoors since a resurgence of new Covid-19 cases.

The mandate was lifted on June 15, but since then hundreds of new cases have been detected in the country, many of them school students, reports Xinhua news agency.

On Thursday, the country's Covid-19 project manager Nachman Ash said in a press briefing that the mandate will be re-imposed at the beginning of the coming week.

However, because of the alarming rise in morbidity, the Ministry decided to bring the rule forward to Friday's noon.

The obligation does not include a permanent home, children under the age of seven and sports activities.

Either, it does not apply to people who work separately without another person in the room or two who always work together.

The Ministry also recommended wearing masks in crowded gatherings in open areas and advised those with medical risks or not vaccinated to avoid attending gatherings.

The number of active Covid cases in Israel currently stands at 872, the highest since May 13 and nearly 4.7 times higher than the figure recorded on June 9.

The country's overall caseload and death toll have increased to 840,638 and 6,429.