The new Green Tag restrictions, part of Israel’s fight against the coronavirus, went into effect Wednesday morning, and include all the sectors of the economy except in malls and commerce, from the age of three and up. According to the Health Ministry, this is the Green Tag policy by age: Israelis up to age 3 are exempt from all restrictions; from age 3 to 12, they must be tested and the state pays for it; from age 13 on, if you didn’t vaccinate you pay for your test if you want to enter spaces that are Green Tag-restricted.
The speedy tests will be carried out in about 220 stations that have been deployed throughout the country, results are available in 15 minutes and are valid for 24 hours.
The Green Tag is enforced in swimming pools, museums, restaurants, hotels, gyms, academic institutions, nursing homes, cultural and sports events, conferences and exhibitions, libraries, and prayer houses with more than 50 congregants. Entry to all these places is conditioned on presenting either a vaccine certificate (with just 2 for now – DI) or a negative coronavirus test if you are older than three (ask Mommy).
Here’s a puzzler, though: the Green tag will not be enforced in day camps—the one place where kids who carry the virus are most likely to give it to each other. Parents don’t have to test their children before leaving them in day camp.
Here’s another nugget: the Green Tag restrictions do not apply in public transportation. However, the bus driver or train conductor is free to restrict the number of passengers and enforce the facemask requirement. Otherwise, enjoy the spread. In public transportation, as well as in stores that are 100 square meters or bigger, where the good old Purple Tag is now in effect, capacity is restricted to one person per seven square meters (75 square feet).
But there are no space or capacity restrictions in food stores or pharmacies, so, again, spread away.
The number of participants in mass events is limited to 1,000 people in a closed space and up to 5,000 in an open space at events without marked seating. At events in private homes and other places that are not covered by the Green Tag, a gathering will be limited to 50 people indoors and up to 100 people in an open space.