Shopping centers and businesses in Karmiel resumed operations early in the morning on Tuesday. This move of theirs went against the coronavirus guidelines announced by the governments.
While shopping centers and malls across the country remain shut down due to the pandemic, the city of Karmiel, located in Northern Israel, has decided to take the law into its own hands. Just recently, the relevant government officials in the city announced that they will be reopening shopping centers soon, and thus, they did.
The Mayor of Karmiel, Moshe Kuninsky, also made an announcement on Monday, saying that he will permit businesses to resume operating if their employees have received the vaccination. He added that businesses will need to provide proof that their workers were inoculated twice, at least seven days ago.
The Karmiel municipality also published a Facebook post, which noted that the guidelines provided by the Health Ministry will define just how many customers are allowed in a shop at a time.
Meanwhile, numerous shops all across Karmiel decided to take this opportunity to reopen after being on lockdown for months. Due to the pandemic, owners of these shops were living on almost no income and had piling debts. Despite the fact that they have chosen to resume operations, many store owners still fear getting infected.
A local Karmiel resident also stated that the people residing in the city have no choice but, to go to work. He asserted that business owners like himself have not been able to make a living due to the pandemic. However, the vaccinated citizens are careful when it comes to maintaining guidelines and following all the rules. As of now, shops in the city are operating at 50% capacity only.
On the other hand, there are those who are warning the people of Karmiel to exercise caution. Police officers in the country have no regard for the instructions given by the municipality of the city. As far as they are concerned, the actions of these store owners go against the national directive.
A local florist confessed that though he has heard about other business owners in the city rebelling against the directives of the government, he is too afraid. He expressed that he would love to reopen his shop but, does not believe that decisions being made by the local authorities will apply to those being made on the national level.
Kuninsky hopes that by allowing vaccinated citizens to reopen shops, he is motivating even more people to make appointments to receive the vaccination. He is convinced that his decisions will ensure the return of the businesses located in the city. According to him, this is the simplest and safest way for the people to go back to the life they knew before the pandemic.
Shopping centers that are run by the Big Group, did not waste time in hopes of an official approval. Instead, it announced on Tuesday morning that most of its clothing and fashion shops in the city of Karmiel were reopened and operating at full capacity.