TEL AVIV, Feb 21 — Israel took a step towards normalcy today, re-opening a raft of businesses and services following its third national lockdown, with some sites only available to those who have been vaccinated. 

Nearly three million people, almost a third of Israel’s population, have received the two recommended doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, the world’s quickest inoculation pace per capita.

With a steady flow of data proving the Pfizer vaccine’s efficacy in stopping serious illness from Covid-19, Israel’s government has begun gradually easing restrictions. 

Shopping malls and stores with street access re-opened today, with certain limitations on crowd size. 

But gyms, swimming pools, hotels and some cultural facilities are re-opening only to those who have been fully vaccinated and obtained the so-called green pass. 

Israel’s green pass scheme is being closely-watched as a possible model for how other economies might re-open once a substantial part of the population is vaccinated, while stirring controversy over unequal access for those who opt out of the jab. 

Lifting weights at gym in Petah Tikva near Tel Aviv late yesterday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted Israel was moving ahead “with caution,” while imploring “everyone to get vaccinated.”

Standing at the entrance of a posh Tel Aviv gym, 90-year-old Ora Davidovicz said she “couldn’t wait” to go swimming. 

“It’s been almost a year since I went to the pool,” she told AFP. “I’ve been counting the days.”

“All I have to do is put on my swimsuit,” she said, before heading in. 

As of today, nearly 3.2 million Israelis are eligible for the green pass, according to the health ministry.  

That includes 2.5 million people who had their second shot more than a week ago as well as nearly 700,000 people who have recovered from Covid-19. 

At the family-owned Katalina shoe store in central Tel Aviv, Mordechai Nazarian said his business had been closed for eight of the last 12 months, with “little openings here and there” as Israel lifted restrictions between lockdowns. 

“We hope this one is the right one,” he told AFP.

Israel, which has one of the world’s most sophisticated medical data systems, secured a substantial stock of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine by paying above market price and by striking a data-sharing deal with the drug giant.

Netanyahu is hoping that the successful vaccine procurement and rollout will boost his support ahead of March 23 elections, Israel’s fourth vote in less than two years. — AFP