Israel's success fighting COVID is impressive by any criteria. Life is getting back to normal, leisure locations are full, crowds are back at stadiums and performances, and people outside without masks are smiling. There are still some restrictions in effect, but Israel is basically on its way back. This is an even more impressive achievement given how the pandemic is still raging abroad.
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In India, tens of thousands of people are dying of the virus daily, the country's healthcare system is close to collapse, hospitals are running out of room, and hospital directors are warning that the supply of oxygen is about to run out. Cyprus has also seen a sharp rise in the number of new cases, and was forced to declare a lockdown. Cypriots are allowed to leave their homes for three hours a day, and only when they have permits. Tourists, even if they can visit the country's hotels, will certainly prefer not to. The situation in Turkey is just as bad, and the same goes for other European countries, where there is concern that the rate of vaccination won't keep up with the spread of the virus.
Israel's success against the virus is the result of its vaccination campaign. More than 5 million Israelis have received both doses of the vaccine, and over 800,000 have recovered from COVID-19. The government should be given credit for ensuring a supply of vaccines, and the healthcare system, the HMOs, hospitals, and Magen David Adom should be given credit for carrying out the fastest, most effective vaccination campaign in the world. The characteristics of the third wave in Israel showed that indeed, unlike the waves that preceded it, it was the vaccines – rather than the lockdown – that stopped transmission and reduced the number of new cases to fewer than 100 per day.
However, what could put Israel's success at risk is the spread of a variant like the Indian one. The medical significance of the variants is evaluated by three criteria: the rate of infection, how sick they make people, and to what extent they can withstand the vaccines. Like the British and South African variants, the Indian variant is much more contagious than the original virus. We still don't know how strong it is or whether the vaccines are effective against it. We are concerned that it will withstand vaccines, so the rate of spread will increase to the point of a fourth wave of COVID.
Therefore, if Israel wants to continue enjoying a healthy routine, it must prevent anyone carrying the Indian variant and other variants from entering the country by taking control of its borders. Because a negative COVID test upon arriving in Israel does not guarantee that the person who takes it is not a carrier, we need to enforce mandatory self-quarantine through frequent checks, electronic means, COVID quarantine hotels, and major fines for those who violate it. Enforcing quarantine has been Israel's Achilles heel from the start of the pandemic, and it must not continue to be.
But this aside, each and every one of us must work to ensure that Israel's rare success is maintained, and behave responsibly so that we can continue on our way back to our ordinary routine.
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