Professor Arnon Afek, Associate Director General and Acting Director of Sheba General Hospital, spoke to 103 FM Radio about the rise in the number of coronavirus cases diagnosed in Israel, saying that he finds the rise "very disturbing."
Prof. Afek, who is a former Director-General of Israel's Health Ministry, told 103 FM: "I am very disturbed, since we managed to reduce the number of patients even in the hospitals. The State of Israel succeeded in handling severely ill patients in a truly amazing fashion, and that's a very difficult thing to do. All of these achievements could completely disappear due to the rise in the number of infections. If we don't keep the guidelines, we won't be able to stop the rise."
When asked if the recent photos showing large gatherings on beaches, at restaurants, and at parties are the result of a lack of trust in the Health Ministry, Prof. Afek responded: "If we don't all act together," the rise will continue. "Here, we need to increase enforcement," he added. "In the past, they chased after surfers in the sea, which was almost funny. Now, people are walking around and no one says anything to them."
"If we allow this trend to continue, at the end those 10-15% of patients who are severely ill, and the 2-3% who are on ventilators will begin to add up in the system, and then what will we say? That we need to respond? We need to understand that early response is what will prevent this."
Noting the low number (23) of coronavirus patients currently on ventilators, Prof. Afek spoke about the Health Ministry's expectation that 5,000 people will need ventilators. "In processes such as the battle against coronavirus, it's very difficult to predict the result, so we need to follow very carefully. There's a gap between when people infected and when serious symptoms show, and I very much hope that we really won't see those numbers." Twenty-three, he added "is a very small number, and I'm happy about that. There is a gap between infection and when serious symptoms appear and when ventilation is required. For that reason the recovery is a lot slower."
"There's no ideology in seeing severely sick people and there's no reason to make people scared, it's a minority of people. We're not surprised, but the fact that the public is no longer responding and is acting in a way that in my opinion harms everyone is disturbing. So what should we do, not reopen after the lockdown? Always stay under lockdown? That's also not an answer."
He also explained that there are two basic approaches to coronavirus, which are almost impossible to combine: Successful control of the disease, where the nightmarish predictions do not come true at all, and not doing anything, and then having to deal with a nightmare scenario.
"In general - and there are faults, it's not like everything is one big success - the State of Israel has successfully gained control of the plague. Everyone is a part of it, and everyone paid a price, and now it's a shame to lose that," Prof. Afek emphasized.
"I want to ask everyone, and not just the medical system which will surely join the efforts to help - I want to ask the entire nation of Israel to listen: We can't succeed in this alone."
Regarding the Shabak's (Israel Security Agency) decision not to track the cellular phones of coronavirus carriers, Prof. Afek said that "the decision makers are the political echelon, who must always strike a balance between the need to provide a real response and to prevent infection and death, and the use of means - and that applies to all of us. That's its job, the professionals come and present their suggestions and the political echelons, the government, is the one who decides. That's the essence of democracy."