Until recently, it could be said that the Ministry of Health manages the campaign responsibly and carefully, but this past week began to squeak • Interpretation

• Ministry of Defense should take command // Photo: DoZ

Until a week ago, it could be said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Department of Health have been managing, in a good, responsible, very careful and devoted way to the worst global health crisis in the health sector for 100 years. Israel has achieved a critical strategic advantage as it has advanced much of the world, including the rich, strong and large Western countries, with stricter home isolation provisions for anyone returning from abroad and a number of restrictions already at the outset.

But since last Saturday, squeals and problems that are only getting worse and worse - and it should be recalled that the Ministry of Defense should have full command and control of the national struggle in Corona and fully run an emergency farm. To date, Defense Minister Naftali Bennett has shown extremely impressive capabilities in organizing very vital needs such as establishing hotels for patients (no way to understand why most of the lightest patients are not already sent there), and success in providing essential equipment for testing. The way in which Bennett communicates vital information to the public about the epidemic, and unfortunately it does so mainly through Facebook, is sharp, clear, and much better than some of the speakers at the health and finance ministries.

This is how the "check and run" method works // Photo: Shmuel Buchris

One of the problems that emerges in crisis management is the lack of tests for Corona. The problem is not just the shortage of test kits themselves (they now have endless global demand), but the problem lies with the stubborn Ministry of Health policy that thought there was no need to rush and do mass checks for anyone and almost anyone.

For more than a week, the Ministry of Health has prevented the complexes from being checked and transported under the management of Magen David Adom, where thousands of Israelis were already scheduled to be checked every day. For comparison, since the beginning of the acute crisis on February 23, only 14,000 people have been examined by MDA throughout the country. A massive increase in the tests will gather significant and critical information to map the spread of the epidemic in Israel by regions, localities and population concentrations, and facilitate attempts to mitigate the spread of the corona. .

Another problem is the protection of the medical and nursing staff and other hospital workers and health funds currently at the forefront of the Corona War who feel themselves exposed to the disease due to a lack of protective equipment as well as the growing number of health care workers in home isolation. According to data from the Ministry of Health, about 3,000 health care workers are in isolation, and every day dozens more doctors and nurses are added to this list.

In addition, 42 medical personnel have already been infected with the disease, and were diagnosed only after exposing many patients and workers to the virus. The Ministry of Defense and Israel's entry into a full emergency can also help in this area, including mass mobilization of nurses and nurses and medical students and nursing for immediate hospital work.

The Ministry of Health's strict instructions, like many countries in the world, are designed to try and slow down the spread of the epidemic, as the main goal is to slow the rate of hospitalization of hard-to-reach patients for fear that they will not be able to afford reasonable care to hundreds and thousands of seriously ill patients. The shocking situation in northern Italy is the warning sign for all health systems in the world and is the main reason for unprecedented scale actions taken worldwide. However, even so, the Ministry of Defense can greatly assist in the rapid acquisition of equipment and respiratory equipment and the establishment of intensive care units that are so lacking in hospitals in Israel.

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It has been said many times that the Ministry of Health's efforts so far to reduce the spread of the epidemic are based on social and civic solidarity and personal commitment of the citizen for the general public, not least on medical technologies and threats to enforce policing and even coercion. However, this civil solidarity does not seem to be sufficient and additional measures must be taken to ensure that social isolation and stay in the homes are met. The Ministry of Defense and the police have to worry about that too, but of course it should only be done with tight and close legal and parliamentary supervision.

Many have also said that Israel's resilience in the fight against the spread of the virus should rest not only on the isolation of the public at large, but also on strong social and economic infrastructure. The Ministry of Finance and the government must also take into account the economic and social resilience and prepare to help and compensate the victims of the crisis very quickly and announce it as soon as possible to reduce the economic and social anxiety that may hurt itself in the war against the spread of the corona.

For the public to accept and execute such harsh and exceptional instructions will not only help policing and threats of fines and imprisonment, but an immediate need for an economic plan that will significantly compensate the public for the severe economic damage. Without real mobilization and no slogans from the Treasury and the Bank of Israel, the Health and Security Ministries will not be able to implement the closure and social isolation they impose on us Israelis over time, even if the goal is to preserve the health and life of us all.