Professor Masad Barhoum, General Director of the Galilee Medical Center, warned that Israel will regret the illegal Purim parties.
“This is a horrible disease, the British mutation is going wild, especially in the north,” Kikar Hashabbat quoted him as saying. “In another ten days, we’ll see the results of the violations of order and the gatherings that occurred on Purim. The infection coefficient is rising, the British mutation is running wild, the vaccination campaign is not moving forward, and we are inching closer to a fourth lockdown. At this rate, we will reach Pesach (Passover) in a very difficult situation.”
Regarding the exit from the third lockdown, Prof. Barhoum said: “The economy has basically been reopened almost completely; the educational system has also reopened, and people participated in mass Purim parties."
“The bill for Purim will soon arrive. When I spoke about a two-week lockdown the way we had on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), people didn’t listen. And now, look what we’re going to have on Pesach. Soon there will be Ramadan and Pesach and after that wedding season will start.
“In my estimation, we need to have 5.5 million people vaccinated in order for us to have a sort of safety net, and we’re not close to that.”
Prof. Barhoum also mentioned that the Palestinian Authority’s population presents somewhat of a problem, since they are mostly unvaccinated.
“Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian residents, some of whom come to us, are not getting vaccinated at all, and that’s a big problem. The hospitals in Ramallah are exploding with coronavirus patients. I won’t talk about the political issue or even the humanitarian one, but about the State of Israel’s clear interests. Soon the restaurants will reopen, and who works there, if not Palestinians? We need to make sure we vaccinate these people. I’m not talking about the process or who does it, just about the result,” he said.
“This is an awful disease,” he emphasized. “We have here young patients, some of them without pre-existing conditions, who developed the worst cases of lung disease.”
“Just yesterday, we had a 51-year-old patient arrive. She had no pre-existing conditions and she was in critical condition. Unfortunately, she died before she could be admitted.
“Many people who contracted this disease are still struggling – even after they recover – with continued symptoms and long-term consequences. I see this and my heart breaks. Anyone who doesn’t get vaccinated, including young people, needs to take into account that they may get hit hard. Go get vaccinated!”