Professionals in Israel have decided to reduce the chance of the Indian variant entering the country • Prof. Ash: "Since detours can be carried out, it is better to increase supervision"
The Corona virus rampage in India continues to occupy the Airports Authority and the Ministry of Health: Today (Monday) a discussion took place between professionals in the Ministry of Health and other ministries regarding incoming flights from India to Israel.
Director General of the Ministry of Health, Prof. Levy, last week: "The vaccine may be less effective for the Indian variant" // Photo: GPO
After a complex discussion between the professionals in the Ministry of Health and the Airports Authority, professionals decided to recommend stopping flights from India in order not to risk the entry of the Indian variant into Israel.
However, not everyone agrees on the subject.
Prof. Nachman Ash explained this week that one should be content with a travel warning and not stopping flights: "It will be possible to make detours, so we prefer that things be clear, that they do not hide arrival and that we can check," he said.
In the discussions that took place on the subject, the intention also arose to recommend banning the entry of foreigners from all seven countries for which they issued a travel warning.
In addition, it is likely to be recommended that vaccinated and recovering Israelis who come from India, and possibly from other countries for which a travel warning was issued, also enter isolation.
Earlier today, a senior Ministry of Health official said that the ministry is recommending that together with the Airports Authority and the Population Authority also try to monitor indirect flights from India.
It is also important to note that most landers from India in Israel arrive via Turkey and not by direct flight.
At the beginning of the plague, the Indian authorities actually acted quickly and imposed a general closure that led to a relatively low mortality rate.
Although it hit the economy hard, it saved lives.
However, in light of the success of the first wave - the Indians felt it was possible to downshift and did not anticipate the current wave at all.
The result: a general unpreparedness that has led to the difficult scenes in recent weeks - patients arrive at hospitals in their final strength and die even before they are hospitalized, families burn the bodies of their loved ones in makeshift bonfires, and general chaos.
Ironically, India has done an impressive job in producing vaccines for the rest of the world, but when it comes to treating local morbidity there has been no comprehensive planning ahead of time.
Dr Danny John, a renowned public health expert in Delhi, said: "The government needs to teach citizens how to deal with the symptoms so that they can be tested in time, instead of running to the hospital as a last resort."
He said, "What exacerbated the situation is that hospitals are not willing to accept people if they do not have proof that they are infected, and that delays the whole process."
And as if that wasn’t enough, private hospitals require patients to pay money for hospitalization instead of exercising their insurance policy.
But despite the difficulties, there seem to be encouraging signs.
In light of the crisis, the Indian government began to fill the shortages with oxygen, medicines and beds, and began to allow federal states to take strict measures against infection.
