Oleg Ivanyukov, owner of Fitness Land in Rishon Lezion, said his employees were looking forward to welcoming back customers, but had concerns that the passport rule could discrimination.
“I’m not a cop or an examiner, so we’ll ask them if they’ve been vaccinated,” he said.
“I’m not going to ask to see the certificate, but if they’ve been vaccinated they’re welcome.”
Israeli officials say they are aware of efforts to create vaccine licenses and have warned that it will be an offense to try to use one to enter a restricted facility.
The restrictions do not apply to museums and libraries, raising questions about whether these outlets could be the culprits for the virus, while essential shops such as supermarkets will remain open to all. .
Many Israeli shoppers are already putting electronic thermocouples outside their stores to prevent those with Covid tokens from entering. And, last week, restaurants were allowed to reopen their doors to take food with you.
Israel has also reopened some schools to young pupils and those taking final exams, and on Sunday grades 5-6 and 11-12 will be allowed back in areas with a low rate of coronavirus infections.
To date, Israel has given the first of two jobs to around four million of its 9.1m citizens, and most people over 60 have been fully vaccinated.
Covid’s infection rate remains relatively high, and mutations such as UK snoring have been blamed.
But a new drug that can reduce Covid’s symptoms in as little as two hours is seen as a major gamekeeper.
The drug, Allocetra, was designed by Professor Dror Mevorach, head of the coronavirus department at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, and is being tested on ventilated patients.
Dr. said. Mevorach said the drug, administered through IV drip, works to “stabilize” a patient’s immune system as it goes into an attempt to fight the virus.
The phenomenon, referred to by doctors as “cytokine storms,” leads to organ failure and often leads to death.
“I hope everyone gets the vaccine, but this drug can greatly reduce the burden on hospitals,” Prov Mevorach said.
“With this drug it is possible to reduce the average length of time a patient spends [in intensive care] from 14-20 days to just seven days. “