Following most pandemic restrictions in Israel being lifted, two Israeli public health experts, Prof. Ronit Calderon-Margalit and Prof. Nadav Davidovitch said at a virtual press conference that they support the move toward normalcy despite having some reservations.

“I was surprised to hear that two weeks ago the Ministry of Health decided these restrictions would all be lifted June 1,” said Calderon-Margalit, a professor of epidemiology at the Hebrew University School of Public Health and Hadassah Medical Center.

“We do have very low levels of transmission, severe morbidity, and deaths. Practically it makes sense to lift restrictions,” she said.

Israel’s vaccination drive was hailed worldwide as the fastest and most efficient.

“We are proud that Israel served as a model country and now we are reaping the fruits of an amazing vaccination campaign,” said Davidovitch, head of the School of Public Health at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and a senior official in the Israeli Association of Public Health Physicians.