(Photo: Uri Davidovich, Avi Chai)
Will the closure be extended? The Corona Cabinet will convene this week for a crucial discussion on the issue – and while the Ministry of Health is expected to push for an extension of the closure this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still waiting for the serious illness data before making a decision. Meanwhile, Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kish (Likud) said today (Sunday) in an interview with Ynet that “if we do not see a dramatic change in the form of a significant drop in numbers – which is very hard to believe we will see in a week – we will have to stay closed for another week.”
“I suppose there will be a debate on Wednesday,” said Deputy Minister Kish, “and by then we will have the number of days we have not yet seen. What we have seen so far is stabilization. All last week, including data we have now, talk about the large numbers stabilizing, “They have stabilized at a very high number. It has nothing to do with vaccines or anything. You can not continue to control morbidity in such numbers and this also results, unfortunately, in severe morbidity and mortality.”
-In the first stage will you ask for a week, or from now on you will ask for two weeks of extension in closure?
“We didn’t even decide to ask for another week. I say again: we’ll wait until Wednesday before we jump to conclusions. I can say one thing about this plague – it’s always surprising. So I’ll just wait patiently to come up with the latest data, with a relevant snapshot To that point in time. “
-Are you asking for an extension in exactly the same format or will there be a change because of the same stabilization you are talking about? Maybe a partial opening of an education system? Maybe more relief during this week?
“It remains to be seen what the data will be.”
-The public is trying to figure out what will happen this week
“So I say to the public: we can not make a decision now. A decision now will be a mistake. We must wait until Tuesday-Wednesday, take the conclusion and decision on a data basis to the same point in time. It accompanied us throughout the plague, these decisions are supposedly made in the 90th minute. “They are done in the 90th minute, because they are like a battle; you have to prepare for reality and things change and if you decide too early, you may make mistakes.”
-But when you say aggravation, what else is left to limit or aggravate in this closure?
“Also this closure, let’s say like this, in times when we had a disease that was perhaps even less high, we knew how to make more significant restrictions and closures that lowered the morbidity better. I will tell you another word that is important to understand where the problem is. I call this closure ‘British Mutation Closure'” .
“By the way,” Kish continued, “it’s all over the world. We’re changing the disease, the disease is becoming much more contagious, not more dangerous, but spreading much more. So the whole world is in closures and therefore also very difficult to lower the numbers. Because what we thought was In the past, we know that the British mutation is already in Israel in significant numbers. That’s why I think the event is so complex, so difficult, and therefore can also be like the beginning of things. A week of closure. “
-There is also a lot of criticism that in fact the Ministry of Health has not strengthened the manpower system in the hospitals. It rolled into your doorstep even though it’s not your fault
“No, that’s not true. We strengthened and took all the available manpower. I can tell you that the budget and the battle now over the budget that the hospitals are running with the treasury, together with us, is completely unnecessary. Here the treasury should say ‘leave, take, manage the plague and take Whatever you want, we’ll talk later. “It’s a pity that today they are dealing with private hospitals in battles over budget. I turn to Minister Israel Katz to intervene and end this event today.
“As for the workforce, all the workforce we could have recruited. I think the problem in the hospitals and the great workload in the hospitals still, we decided to give the hospital managers the freedom to run their elective medicine: in places where they feel the workload is too great – close and reduce. I think we got to the point. “It’s hard. Everyone has a hard time making this move inside, but when we see that the numbers are so high, I think there is no choice and I think we will have to gather in this place.”
“Listen, let’s leave Israel for a moment and see what happened in Europe and the United States. There are hospitals in the Western world that say ‘Do not bring us ambulances with Corona patients’. There is a huge collapse and burden on health systems all over the world and this means that the treatment of patients has really been harmed. We try to avoid this thing as much as possible. That’s why we’re closed. It’s not for nothing. The public needs to understand this. There are loads, there are pressures, there is a very high morbidity – even in the hospitals. “
-But do you think that in the future, due to congestion and collapse of the medical staff, patients will pay with their lives?
“It happened in Italy, it happened in Spain, it happens in the US, it happens in the world. So, me, us and the Ministry of Health and the whole medical system in the Ministry of Health do everything so that we are not there. Has this happened in the world? Yes, it happened. I do not know exactly what else happened there. There was only a preliminary investigation. But the erosion of the teams does exist, the load is there. It’s not that there is only one patient in intensive care and all staffs look at him to see what happens. The situation is difficult, busy, complex and I do not know what exactly happened there, the issue will be examined in depth. But to tell you do the teams have a load on them and are they eroding? The answer is yes, it is for sure, regardless of the case.
– Deputy Minister Kish, when do you think the vaccination campaign will be open to the entire population?
“I say very clearly, once they finish this stage of the 150,000 for the first and second courses, and the capacity of the 150,000 people is created every day that you can vaccinate another first course, then probably the opening will be very significant.”
-By the way, how much are you bothered by the variants? From the different mutations?
“Very, very upset. We are going to take very aggressive actions against any circular from Ben Gurion Airport.
– It’s time, by the way
“It’s very complex. I don’t get that ‘it’s time’.”
-Why?
“No one who is not Israeli was brought in here. They did not return, no foreign residents came here. The State of Israel dealt only with Israelis and that is true. They let Israelis give and return, I accept that. There may be criticism in this and maybe we were wrong. But I say at times “Some, with a low morbidity in the world, it is also possible to let Israelis go out and come back. Today we are in a place where the morbidity outside is very, very high and therefore we should behave differently.”
-By the way, what is the aggressive treatment you are mentioning here? What are you talking about? Give us an example
“If we see that the mutations are something that must be stopped and we are at the event, as we did by the way when we only heard about the British mutation. We took everyone to double isolation hotels.”
– You did and came back.
“We came back after a week or two, when we realized that the British mutation is already present and in numbers that are probably significant in Israel and still, today we treat the South African mutation like this: people coming from South Africa and the surrounding area automatically enter a hotel. In the motel. “So there are many more restrictions here and I say that we are probably in the process of exacerbating them, because we really understand now that there are more mutations and this event is an event that must be curbed.”
-So a proper check before arriving in Israel, will it now be a necessity? Will it be mandatory?
“There are quite a few problems when you do not have a Knesset to pass legislation. Even when there was a Knesset, it made a lot of problems. We do everything to minimize the danger from Ben Gurion Airport as well.”