We are in a deceptive period. The number of new cases is still high, but the coefficient of infection is under control and even probably close to 1, the number of deaths is increasing but the number of severe cases is relatively stable. This is a period that requires patience and proportionality, long-term thinking and not pulling from the waist. Undoubtedly, the entry of Prof. Roni Gamzo as the Corona Superintendent brought in new energies. The very change in discourse in such a way that today it is understood that the possibility of total closure has become a last resort and not a leading option, indicates the understanding that public health is far beyond reducing the number of corona cases, and can not at this stage be just a call for "flattening the curve". The concept of "public health" is a complex concept that requires multidimensional thinking and action. The Ministry of Health must not be turned into a corona office. Additional indices are also needed that also relate to morbidity and mortality from other factors, unemployment data, mental health and more.

In terms of continued coping, there is a need for complex work of harnessing the public to maintain the known rules of physical (non-social) distance, masks and hygiene, but on the other hand also harnessing all government agencies combined. In fact, in my opinion, Prof. Gamzo should be much more than a "projector" - he should be the "integrator" - to bring about joint work alongside different parties. The tensions that have been along the way: between the economy and health, between the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Health, between the Ministry of Health and the HMOs, between the central government and the government - are all unnecessary. We need to find the right balance and the joint work without which, as we have seen in the non-integrative exit from the first wave, we have difficulty controlling the dimensions of morbidity. The Ministry of Health should undoubtedly lead the policy, the analysis of the data and the drawing of conclusions. On the other hand, he must enlist the help of the Home Front Command, whether in the epidemiological investigations or in the placement and follow-up on the issue of hotels that help cut off infections at home.

The transfer of the center of gravity to local authorities is a smart move, the fruits of which are also important for the future. The Ministry of Health has been working for a long time on the concept of health in all policies at the municipal level. There is nothing like the city to get to know the residents well, the need for integration between welfare, health, the environment, the economy and urban planning. It is important at this time to simplify, to apply equal standards to different sectors - restaurants and synagogues, businesses and cultural events. It is not possible to set different standards for different people coming from abroad and exerting political pressure on different sectors will lead to hasty decisions. It is very important to return flights wisely, These are green countries.) As with many other issues, the pandemic is also an opportunity: the transfer of the center of gravity to the community, home treatments, telemedicine and other dramatic changes that have happened at a rapid pace recently, need to be adjusted and should remain even after the end of the pandemic.

The corona crisis is changing world orders. It is difficult to predict the new reality that will be born out of the current upheaval, but it seems that basic assumptions about the relationship between society and health will be redefined. Until the beginning of the current year, the connection between society and health was mostly perceived in individual terms, of the relationship between doctors and patients and the duties and rights that accompany this connection. The National Health Insurance Law mainly refers to the medical care that individual patients receive. There is in fact no public health law today that defines the state's duties to the healthy population. The Anachronistic Public Health Ordinance is a mandatory ordinance from 1940 and mainly concerns the legal measures that can be exercised during epidemics.

Our vision needs to change. In the age of the plague, the patient is not only the individual patient whose rights must be protected, but the population that must be protected. The public health professionals who care at the population level and take into account the social, economic and political dimensions of the plague, are at the forefront. The relationship between health and society is defined by goals of prevention and inclusion, as well as by community resilience at all levels, including mental and social, and not just medical care. Such an observation requires a population and integrative vision adapted to the different regions and communities. If we are educated, we can, following the current challenge, change our view as a society about what health is and why we must have an integrative vision to realize it.

Prof. Nadav Davidovich is the head of the School of Public Health, Ben Gurion University of the Negev