Israel has allowed people to go maskless indoors, as the coronavirus cases in the country are decreasing. Times of Israel reported that the Health Ministry announced that from today the requirement for masks to be worn indoors will be lifted.

The Health Ministry had said that masks would still be required because the majority of those under 16 have yet to be vaccinated. If the decreasing trend in the virus continues and the campaign to vaccinate 12- to-15-year-olds succeeds, then another discussion to go maskless in schools will be considered as well, the Ministry said. On June 13, Israel kicked off its vaccination drive for children aged 12 to 15, with 6 lakh eligible for vaccination.

The move came six months after Israel began its vaccination drive for adults, and after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for the age group. At the peak of the pandemic, there were 88,000 active cases in the country and 1,228 serious cases; as of Monday, there were 212 active infections and 29 people in serious condition, according to the Times of Israel.