Full article here
The writing is on the wall, and everywhere you care to
look, Israel appears to be headed for a third lockdown.
Through a combination of flagrant disregard of
regulations among certain segments of the population and the inevitable outcome
of opening more of the economy, the numbers of infected are steadily rising.
Let’s take a look at the results of that
reopening and of some of those flagrant violations.
• A week after the “green island” program was invoked,
enabling hotels in Eilat and at the Dead Sea to open, 10 employees of the
Isrotel Dead Sea were found to be infected. The hotel staff was sent home and
anyone with whom they came in contact was alerted. All those who stayed at the
hotel since November 22 were asked to be tested through their local health
fund.
• A mall pilot program was launched Friday at 15 malls
as a precursor to a wider opening of retail stores. The program had several
basic rules: One person per every 7 sq.m. was allowed to shop (up to 10
customers); the number of visitors to the mall would be measured digitally and
monitored; mall monitors would patrol and enforce the rules of mask-wearing and
social distancing.
In fact thousands crowded together in entrances,
hallways and in stores as they attempted to quench their consumer hunger after
being deprived for close to two months. As a result, the Health Ministry was
already considering shutting down the program and chalking it up as a failure.
Further, 3.3% of people screened for the novel
coronavirus on Saturday tested positive – the highest number in the last month
and up from an average of around 2% last week.
A report by the Coronavirus Knowledge and Information
Center indicated that there has been a consistent increase in the number of
cases and that it expects the number to continue rising.
A TV channel reported on Saturday that two-thirds of
Israelis returning from countries with high coronavirus infection rates have
been breaking quarantine. It was reported to the authorities that between
1%-2% of those returning from abroad were later found to be infected with the
virus. According to regulations, travelers returning from one of those
countries are required to enter quarantine for 14 days, a period that can be
shortened to 12 days.
All of the above examples – whether through good
intentions, accumulative frustration over nine months of restrictions, or
simply disregard for what needs to be done – spell a lockdown.
Former Health Ministry director-general Gabi Barbash said
about a lockdown: “The question is not if. It’s how long until” it happens.
That writing on the wall is as depressing as it is
infuriating. With it comes the realization that until we start acting smart and
responsibly as we wait for a vaccine to be distributed and administered to a
significant majority of the population, we’ve created a vicious cycle that we
will be forced to live with.
Tags Coronavirus Coronavirus in Israel COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown
No comments:
Post a Comment