Israel has lifted the requirement to wear masks indoors, which has been in place for almost a year, as the number of new coronavirus cases in the country continues to decline, AP reported.

The lifting of the requirement to wear masks went into effect on Saturday evening. Masks remain mandatory in hospitals, aged care facilities and on international flights.

Israel has seen a decline in new COVID-19 cases since the peak of the latest wave of infections in January. The number of serious coronavirus cases has dropped from over 1,200 to about 200.

Since the start of the pandemic two years ago, Israel has recorded more than 4 million coronavirus cases and at least 10,658 deaths.

More than 72% of the country's 9.4 million people have received at least one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and almost half have received three shots.

Israel closed its borders in November after the emergence of the Omicron strain, but in the intervening months it has reopened the country to foreign visitors and lifted nearly all coronavirus restrictions.