Going Maskless in Tel Aviv
Yesterday, I walked out of my apartment without wearing a mask, for the first time in an entire year. As of this past morning, the national requirement for outdoor mask wearing, in effect for twelve months, finally ended. It was a strange feeling. Wearing a mask had become as natural as putting on a shirt. Israelis, not known for following orders, largely did follow this regulation. Since last April, it was rare to see someone on a street not wearing a mask. Suddenly, now nothing was hanging around my face, covering my nose and mouth.
Walking down the street, the greatest change was extremely evident. All of a sudden, I could see people faces. The smiles, the frowns, practically without warning, people were abruptly animated once again; not hidden behind their masks, and often sunglasses. Forthwith, I had returned to living in a city filled with mostly happy people.
However, not everyone has decided to remove their masks. Approximately 1 in 10 people still wear them. I asked one masked Tel Aviv resident, Anat, a 30 year old woman, why she was still wearing her mask. She said: “Health. Not everyone has been vaccinated yet, so its safer.” It turns out, mask wearing has had other additional health benefits. For instance, there has been a 60% drop in asthma cases requiring hospitalization, and there were nearly no cases of the flu in Israel this past year.
Israel has been steadily opening up its economy and public services over the past six weeks, as the number of infections from Covid-19 continue to plummet. At the same time, the number of those seriously ill also continues to decline, as more and more of the population become vaccinated. In January, at the peak of the Coronavirus outbreak here, and as the first Israelis received their second shot, Israel recorded over 10,000 new Covid cases each day, with 1,130 critically ill patients filling its hospitals. In contrast, over the last several days, Israel recorded approximately 100 new cases per day, with 205 critically ill Covid patients. At this point, close to 85% of the Israeli population over the age of 16 have been vaccinated.
Removal of masks in open spaces coincides with the full reopening of schools, without any distancing restrictions, marks the near final step toward full reopening. Last Wednesday night marked the beginning of Israel Independence Day, and while most folks wore masks, the streets of Tel Aviv were teaming with people. Streets that had been mostly deserted, with bars and restaurants closed, were suddenly packed. People joyfully celebrated Israel’s Independence, together with the apparent end of the Covid1-9 as a serious health threat in Israel.
I was among the first to be vaccinated in the country. Nevertheless, while the numbers of new daily infections were remained high, I remained careful. Until recently, I avoided in person meetings, and it was not until last weekend that we hosted our first post-Covid dinner guests. Thankfully, as Covid numbers continue to plummet it has become clear that (at least in areas like Tel Aviv) Israel has effectively reached herd immunity.
While Covid-19 restriction exacerbated some of the divisions in Israelis society, (especially between the ultra-Orthodox and secular communities), Israel has been extraordinarily lucky that neither the wearing of masks, nor receiving of a vaccine became a political issue. Despite the fact that no one enjoyed wearing masks, no one in Israel thought their liberties were being impeded by doing so.
While there are a few anti-vaxxers in Israel, there has been no coordinated effort to persuade people to refrain from getting vaccinated. There are no Tucker Carlsons on Israeli TV, warning that Covid vaccines might be dangerous. Everyone I know who was reluctant at first, ultimately chose to join millions of their fellow citizens and get vaccinated. Moreover, the Israeli Health Ministry issues a verification card that confirms vaccination status, and no one claims it impinges on our civil liberties to require such a card for entry into indoor dining, or large venues, like stadiums.
Israelis are aware that until Covid is brought under control in the rest of the world, we cannot let our guard down. The fear of vaccine-resistant Covid-19 mutations is very real. The one area where Israel did a terrible job of controlling Covid has been the admission of infected people via its one real entry point, Ben Gurion Airport. Despite lingering concerns, and even though Israelis are still required to wear mask indoors in public spaces, the guarded optimism of the past two months turned into near euphoria today — as people’s covered faces emerge after being hidden for so long. For the moment, it seems that with masks off, people are smiling once again.
