イスラエル、店内飲食再開　「グリーンパス」保持者対象

【エルサレムＡＦＰ＝時事】イスラエルは7日、新型コロナウイルスワクチン接種証明書「グリーンパス」の保持者を対象に、飲食店やバー、カフェの店内利用を再開した。国民の約40％が接種を完了する中、イスラエルは生活の正常化に向けて歩みを進めている。（写真は資料写真）
　ベンヤミン・ネタニヤフ首相は、エルサレムのカフェで菓子にナイフを入れる自身の動画をフェイスブックに投稿し、「日常が戻りつつある」と宣言した。
　人口約９００万人のイスラエルでは昨年１２月にワクチン接種を開始し、すでに３７０万人以上が米製薬大手ファイザーと独製薬ベンチャーのビオンテックの共同開発ワクチンの２回接種を完了。このほか５００万人近くが１回目の接種を終えている。
　イスラエルは先月、ワクチン接種を完了した人と感染から回復した人に証明書「グリーンパス」を発行し、ジムやプールなどの利用を認める取り組みを開始した。
　飲食店では７日から、テーブル間隔を２メートル空け、入店可能人数を定員の最大７５％、上限は１００人とすることで、店内利用が可能となった。
　グリーンパスの保持者はバーの利用も可能となったが、同居者以外とは１席ずつ空けて着席することが条件となる。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/03/09-13:56）

Israel took another step towards post-pandemic normalcy on Sunday, opening restaurants, bars and cafes to vaccinated green pass holders, with about 40 percent of the population fully inoculated against the coronavirus.
We are coming to life, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, as he cut into a pastry at a Jerusalem cafe, according to a video posted on Facebook.
Israel, which launched its vaccination campaign in December, has given the recommended two jabs of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to more than 3.7 million of its roughly nine million people.
Nearly five million have received one shot.
The country launched its green pass programme last month, allowing controlled numbers of people with proof of full vaccination -- or those who had recovered from Covid-19 -- to enter gyms, pools and other facilities.
But Sunday's slate of re-openings has been highly anticipated, as it marks the restoration of services that touch the daily lives of many Israelis.
Restaurants are now permitted to resume indoor dining up to 75 percent capacity, with a cap of 100 people and with tables two metres (6.5 feet) apart.
Green pass holders can also now have a drink at a bar -- but cannot yet strike up a chat with a stranger sitting on the stool beside them, with rules requiring an empty seat between patrons, unless they live together.
Eating and drinking on terraces does not require a green pass.
Large numbers of students, many of whom have been out of classrooms for months, will also start returning to school this week, while hotel event halls, sport venues and places of worship are re-opening to green pass holders, with capacity limits in place.
Israelis stranded abroad amid a weeks-long airport closure will also be allowed to return home in increasing numbers this week, beginning with 1,000 arrivals permitted on Sunday.
- 'We'll be done' -
Netanyahu, who faces a tough re-election battle in two weeks, has put Israel's robust vaccination drive at the centre of his campaign.
While many countries have struggled to secure vaccine supply, Netanyahu's government has remained well-stocked thanks largely to an arrangement with Pfizer to share medical data on the product's impact.
The prime minister, in power since 2009, has said he wants Israel's entire over-16 population vaccinated by the end of this month, hoping the economy will be almost fully re-opened in time for the Passover holiday, which begins on March 27.
Just have to get a few hundred thousand more people... especially the over 50s, and we'll be done, Netanyahu said at the Jerusalem cafe, gesturing as if he were jabbing his arm with a shot.
While Israel's vaccination pace remains among the world's fastest, the Jewish state has faced widespread calls, including from the United Nations, to ensure inoculations of Palestinians living under occupation in the West Bank, and those in Israeli-blockaded Gaza.
Netanyahu's government has announced plans to vaccinate 100,000 Palestinians with permits to work in Israel.