Opinion: The battle against COVID-19 is being undermined constantly by so-called opinion leaders, who first told us about the wonders of the magical, virus-hit Dubai and now claim the public cannot take anymore lockdowns
Israel’s coronavirus vaccine campaign is finally working. Those who had received both doses of the vaccine don’t appear to develop any complications from the virus. This means the vaccines have already saved the lives of at least 3,500 Israelis, at least when considering the average death rate among all age groups.
The positive influence of the vaccines, however, is being hampered by the new coronavirus variants, especially the far more infectious UK mutation.
This variant is far more prevalent among the younger generation, those who have yet to be vaccinated, thereby delaying the overall inhibitory effect of the vaccine.
The mutation, which naturally originated in London, was unnaturally brought to Israel from Dubai.
It is easy for pundits to blame the masses who flocked to the Gulf kingdom following the normalization agreements and came back virtually unmonitored back into Israel. But it is not as easy to repent for the sins.
This mad dash to Dubai was not just born out of nowhere. For months on end, celebrities, politicians, businessmen, entertainers and even rabbis – aided by an endless stream of media reports of the magical tourist hub – gave birth to this travel craze.
Old and young lined up in crowded queues as if they were heading to the new El Dorado. Every bank and cooperation made it mandatory to hold a huge “Dubai” or “Abu Dhabi” summit, headed by a collection of boring talking heads.
All of this was happening while Israel was still under a national “lockdown.” Recently, Israel surpassed a total of over 140 days under strict closure since the start of the pandemic, and is the current world record holder for lockdown days imposed on the population.
The most inconceivable variable is the fact that even under a “full” lockdown, 85-90 percent of Israel’s economy was still working as usual, at least for a short period of time back in March, according to the Bank of Israel.
Even in the current lockdown, only a small margin of the economy has been shuttered compared to the usual economic winter routine.
This is not a lockdown, it’s merely a series of restrictions on commerce and services, with no nighttime curfew, minimal enforcement and with only secular schools closed, while the education system in the Haredi sector appears to operate as normal.
The current coronavirus infection rates warrant a major extension to this partial lockdown and even a significant tightening of the current restrictions. But again, the necessary measures will be ignored, and this time not only because of our politicians.
It is exhausting to see the constant between health and hospital officials against the so-called opinion leaders who claim the public “cannot withstand more lockdowns and is rebelling against it.”
Such statements are not based on any factual data and do nothing but continue to disregard the importance of adhering to public health orders.
It only leads to an average person believe that if everyone is flouting the restrictions, then what stops me from not doing the same? Downright criminal behavior becomes the norm.
The greatest example of this are the stories that have appeared in the media over the recent week following the shuttering of Ben Gurion Airport. The cries for help from Israelis stranded abroad. Well, to be more accurate, Israelis who decided to fly abroad during a lockdown and became stuck there.
This “Dubai syndrome” haunts our efforts to stop this virus, no matter where we turn or what we do.
As reported by Ynetnews