Israel rolls back ‘Green Pass’ as Prime Minister declares the ‘Covid wave is breaking’

A nation recording over 20,000 cases per day has declared the pandemic “wave is breaking” and will scrap a polarising law immediately.

Israel has announced the end of its polarising “Green Pass”, removing restrictions on venues for unvaccinated locals as the Omicron wave regresses.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the nation, which was one of the first in the world to begin vaccination rollouts in December 2020, was over the pandemic hump and would continue to scrap restrictions.

“This wave is breaking,” Bennett said at a meeting with Israeli health officials, according to The Times of Israel. “We are seeing a decline in the number of severely ill.”

Bennett later released a statement confirming the changes.

“We were the first to act and close the skies with the onset of the wave. Now we are gradually releasing the limitations,” the prime minister said.

The announcement comes despite Israel recording over 20,000 new cases on Wednesday. However, that that number marks a significant drop from the cases recorded in January, which peaked at around 80,000 per day. The the number of hospitalisations and serious cases have also begun to drop significantly in the nation of 9.4 million.

The Green Pass restrictions were already beginning to be rolled back earlier this month, allowing everyone to enter restaurants, movie theatres, and gyms without presenting a QR code.

The new changes, beginning March 1, will remove restrictions on all venues in the country, including event halls, and large gatherings.

Israel has announced the end of its polarising “green pass”, removing restrictions on venues for unvaccinated locals as the Omicron wave regresses.

Visitors to nursing homes will however still be required to take a rapid antigen test before being allowed in.

Since taking over from Benjamin Netanyahu in June last year, Bennett has promised to prioritise the economy of Israel, promising his government would seek to reduce restrictions on businesses.

Netanyahu faced intense criticism for his stringent Covid measures during the early stages of the pandemic, with several protests held to denounce his leadership.

The announcement came as thousands of Israelis held a “freedom convoy” in Jerusalem on Monday, further demonstrating their ire against ongoing restrictions for the unvaccinated among other polarising pandemic legislation.

Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai recently requested the government urgently adjust Israel’s vaccination policy for visitors, as current laws still prevent many children from entering the country.

“Children over the age of one who do not have Israeli citizenship are required to prove vaccination and/or recovery in order to enter Israel,” he wrote in a letter to the prime minister’s office.

Netanyahu faced intense criticism for his stringent Covid measures during the early stages of the pandemic, with several protests held to denounce his leadership.

“This policy prevents families – both of Jews and non-Jews – from entering Israel with their children, since no vaccine is available worldwide for children under five. In preparation for Passover, I call on you to more fully open Israel’s gates and immediately allow for any family hoping to gather around the Seder table in Israel the opportunity to do so.

“We have the ability to establish a long-term framework that will allow entry into Israel while ensuring public health.”

At the time of writing, the number of seriously ill patients continues to drop, down to 886 from 911 the previous day, according to the Jerusalem Post.

“Of the serious cases, 322 are considered critical, with 263 people intubated and an additional 28 on ECMO machines,” official sources reported.

There have been 9710 Covid-related deaths recorded in Israel since the beginning of the pandemic.