פרופ' נחמן אש
פרופ' נחמן אשצילום: פלאש 90

Israeli Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash, who formerly served as Israel’s COVID czar, expressed optimism Wednesday morning regarding the future of the coronavirus pandemic, predicting that there would likely not be mass infections during the upcoming Yom Kippur holiday – set to begin at sundown Wednesday – nor will Israel likely face a fifth wave of the pandemic.

Speaking with Israel Hayom Wednesday morning, Ash said that in his “estimate, there won’t be a fifth wave” of the COVID pandemic, but added that it was too soon to tell if the current wave, Israel’s fourth, is nearing its end.

“We need to wait another week to see what will be the effects of the start of the school year, the holidays, the Uman pilgrimage, and the Funjoya festival. But I do feel that we’re approaching the end of this wave, and that makes sense given that we’ve been vaccinated. There’s no magic here.”

Ash said that while he would have liked the government to impose greater restrictions on public activity during the fourth wave, the government’s policy of basing changes on the number of seriously ill COVID patients rather than the number of new cases is “legitimate”.

“There is no absolute truth. I do believe that ethically speaking, it wasn’t right at this stage of the pandemic to hold events with mass gatherings like the Funjoya festival, or soccer games.”