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Hundreds of people vaccinated against Covid-19 packed a Tel Aviv football stadium on Friday for the first of four concerts organized by the municipality as Israel eases virus restrictions.
The 500 fans wore masks and sat in the central section of the 30,000-seat Bloomfield Stadium to attend the performance of Israeli pop star Ivri Lider.
“It’s really great. I’m very happy, ”Reut Gofer said as he arrived at the venue.
“I hope this is the beginning of a period in which we will return to our normal lives,” he added.
Israel, in February, began easing restrictions after a third blockade and has since reopened shopping malls, gyms, swimming pools, hotels and some cultural facilities.
But in most cases, the return to normalcy has been reserved for people who have been completely vaccinated, as part of a scheme called the “green badge.”
Israel is among the world leaders in per capita vaccines against Covid-19.
More than half of the country’s nine million population has already received the two recommended doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech coronavirus vaccine since the inoculation campaign began in December.
“Because most of the population has already been vaccinated … we can finally open our cultural and leisure activities,” said Eytan Shwartz, a spokesman for Tel Aviv City Council.
“I hope we can fill the stadium (Bloomfield) soon,” he added.
Israel has reported more than 796,000 cases of Covid-19, including more than 5,800 deaths.
(AFP)