Over a quarter million Israelis have already been given the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine. The vaccination campaign has allowed us to start thinking about a beginning of an end to the terrible pandemic that has caused Israel, as well as all of humanity, so much death, suffering, and historic damage to the economy, education, business, and society If the campaign to vaccinate everyone is stepped up, it will increase the chances that gradually and with great caution, we will make it past the crisis in the foreseeable future.
Still, this isn't an all-clear. We mustn't rejoice too soon. Coronavirus is still pummeling Israel, like the rest of the world, and we are seeing the third wave gather steam and begin to spread throughout the country, without thousands of new confirmed cases every day, hundreds of serious cases, and more victims added to the over 3,000 deaths Israel has already seen from the virus.
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With numbers like these it was only a question of time before Israel entered another lockdown, and it will begin at 5 p.m. today (Sunday). But this time, too, it is up to us to prevent outbreaks. It is more important than ever to follow regulations carefully and not dismiss the rules put in place to check the spread of the virus; continue wearing masks; and maintain social distancing. Following these rules will reduce outbreaks and the number of people in serious condition, which continues to climb despite the vaccination campaign.
The speed with which Israel went barreling toward a dangerous third outbreak was partly the result of people's complacency as they expected vaccines to become available soon.
So in effect, the happy news that vaccines had arrived caused – at least temporarily – damage in terms of thinking. Many Israelis believe that the pandemic is behind us and all the public health regulations can be disregarded. They think they can take off their masks and flout the rules. We have seen the results of that kind of thinking over the past few days.
Vaccinations are being given and there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel, but now is the time to realize that to a large extent, it is up to us to protect ourselves from COVID. We all have an obligation to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and follow the rules of the third lockdown, which we all hope will be the last. In the absence of sufficient government enforcement, and the unfeasibility of putting a cop on every corner, we are the ones responsible for following the orders.
But complacence about vaccines wasn't the only thing that led us into a third lockdown. We came out of the second lockdown too soon, despite warnings from the Health Ministry. The Corona cabinet made decisions that overruled the Health Ministry, both in terms of easing the restrictions and declaring a third lockdown. If we rush out of Lockdown III too quickly, certain that vaccines are a cure-all, it could cause us to fail in our handling of the third wave just as we started hoping that the end of the pandemic was near.
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