"The Ministry of Health's Director-General, Prof. Chezy Levy, has signed an amendment to the People's Health Decree that drops the masking requirement effective Tuesday, 15/06/2021," the statement read.
The measure, however, does not apply to those who are obliged to quarantine, employees and patients of geriatric facilities, as well as plane passengers and flight crews. Doctors will receive special guidelines to determine the need for masks depending on the type of patient.
Israel embarked on one of the world's most rapid COVID-19 vaccine rollouts in December, with its citizens already getting their second shots in January. On June 1, the country lifted almost all coronavirus restrictions, except for mandatory mask hearing, over a stable downward trend in new infections.
In recent days, the country has detected isolated COVID-19 cases, with a cumulative total of over 800,000 and a death toll of more than 6,000.