My grandmother, Hannah Levine, spent many years working as a nurse in the public health care system. From her, I learned the four "keys" to public health: life, society, strength, and wisdom. These values can also lead us back to the path to victory against coronavirus, while minimizing damage to public health, society, and the economy.
Life: First of all, we need to protect life itself and prevent mortality and morbidity from corona through physical distance and wearing masks. At the same time we prevent and treat the virus, we must prevent morbidity and mortality from other serious conditions, such as strokes or chronic illnesses like cancer. But life isn't about just surviving. Life means being active, not only physically, but also socially. Coronavirus will be with us for some time, and we Israelis must not become passive. We need to find a way to continue our lives while the virus is present. We, the doctors in the public health care system, are encouraging physical activity outdoors, where there is less chance of infection. It would be a mistake to close public pools and beaches. We need to allow and encourage safe outdoor activities.
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Society: Public health care takes a social approach to strengthen people in their own communities. We are all part of one society that is comprised of many smaller societies. Every decision has to take people into account and adjust solutions for different populations, according to their needs, and working with them. We are under orders to maintain physical distance, but not distance from society. There are people in Israel who are going hungry, and we need to take care of them. Israeli society is only as strong as its weakest link.
Strength: Society in Israel, along with each and every one of us, is being tested. We have already been through tougher times, and this pandemic will also pass. If we work correctly, we can even come out of it stronger. The more we support one another, stay strong, and keep thinking positively, the greater success we will have. The Israeli public is used to emergency situations and knows how to pull together and deal with crises successfully. The more decision-makers work with the public and try to reach a consensus, the stronger the public's faith in them will be.
The public needs stability, so it is vital that decisions be made in an orderly and transparent fashion, with foresight.
Emotional strength is equally important, and we need to address this dimension and provide hope and optimism, rather than scaring people. Strength is also solidarity and economic robustness, which is why we need a safety net for people and businesses, especially those that have been forced to shut down to prevent the spread of the virus. Our strength hinges on the people who work in health care, welfare, education, and the police, who are all on the front lines, and we need to bolster them with tangible resources as well as support.
Wisdom: In a pandemic, like every disease, we need to operate wisely and in accordance with our knowledge and epidemiological reasoning. Therefore, it is vital to invest more in epidemiological research, in collecting and analyzing data about the virus and its spread. Epidemiological research plays a crucial role not only in locating contacts, but in providing information that can help the leadership make decisions about the effectiveness of various measures. For us to work wisely, based on facts, we need the data to be fully transparent as well as professionalism in analyzing the data.
Wisdom also means being modest and understanding that even though we know quite a lot, there is still much about the virus we have to learn. We must not depend on projections, but constantly update ourselves based on the latest figures. Widespread steps like a full shutdown are not wise, because they are only effective for a very short period, but do long-term damage. To maintain strength and life, the actions we take to prevent infection need to be precise and proportional, wise and evidence-based, and come at a reasonable cost to society, public health, and the economy.
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