The economy will return to almost full activity on Sunday, although the R has risen to 1 again. • We checked with the experts whether it can be ignored, or whether it can continue as planned. • Prof. Galia Rahav: "Despite the severe decline in patients, care must be taken" • Davidovich: "The opening must not be reckless"
Against the background of the government's decision to continue with the easing program this coming Sunday, and against the background of the increase in the coefficient of infection to level 1, experts are answering the question of whether the coefficient of infection is still relevant today.
Netanyahu: "Strive to open the entire economy in April" // Photo: GPO
Prof. Galia Rahav, chair of the Israeli Infectious Diseases Association and director of the Infectious Diseases Unit at Sheba Hospital, is convinced that the coefficient of infection is now more relevant than ever.
"It's true that there are relatively few critically ill patients right now, but still everyone who is sick in the corona is injured in other ways like the symptoms of the long corona or other problems in the body that are already known, so the fact that there are not many serious patients right now does not mean. In addition, infection leads to the development of mutations, which can eventually damage the immunity of society in Israel and around the world. The more people become infected, the more options the virus has to change and reach a new state where it already knows better how to evade the vaccine. In this respect, it is very important that everyone is vaccinated. "
Regarding the continuation of the relief program expected on Sunday, Prof. Rahav says that "what needs to be done is quite clear, to keep all the rules of distance, unfortunately only what enters the country in one ear goes out from the other, I really do not know what to say after all the celebrations here on Purim People must understand that the instructions are for them. We doctors also wonder about teachers who are not vaccinated, for the education system to open it needs everyone to be vaccinated, and this black hole that some teachers are not vaccinated is terrible, I and all doctors are willing to go talk to any teacher. "Health even with this proposal. I really call on teachers to get vaccinated, it's really critical."
Prof. Nadav Davidovich, head of the Ben-Gurion University School of Public Health and a member of the government advisory team, explains that the coefficient of infection alone is not the whole picture but is important within a general framework. "When looking at the corona there is a whole board including some patients, some infected. Active there is and also the coefficient of infection.
When making decisions then making the decisions based on all the variables also includes the fact that we now have vaccines on the one hand, and on the other hand new mutations that were not there before.
Therefore, the reality now allows, when weighing the entire economic situation, the mental state of the tired public, the need to return the children to routine, all this together is binding and allows together with the vaccines to carefully open the economy. "
He added that "we have more margins of safety to defend with them against the corona virus. However, the opening should not be reckless but it should be very considered and one that takes into account that we have more than 350,000 older people who have not been vaccinated and are still at risk. "Right now, all in all, we are opening up but not ignoring the coefficient of infection, but refining all the data. It really requires continued immunization and continued removal measures, and I hope people will cooperate with that."
