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Israel's Aggressive Response to the Coronavirus Will Save a Lot of Lives

(Times of Israel) Dr. Yair Schindel - We are likely nowhere near the peak of the coronavirus crisis, doctors believe. Like almost everything else in Israel, the strict policy requiring a two-week self-quarantine for Israeli citizens who have visited certain countries has become a matter of spirited debate. Is it really necessary? It is without question the right policy - and will end up saving a lot of lives, as well as a lot of money. It is a shining example of how to do health policy right. The greatest danger to the population - and the economies - of countries affected by coronavirus is not the mortality rate but the transmission rate. Until a vaccine is developed, the only treatment for coronavirus is helping patients weather the disease, which involves, in the more difficult cases, hooking them up to a ventilator and isolating them in a hospital quarantine zone. Imagine if half the population was exposed, 10% became infected and 10% of those became acutely ill. Could any healthcare infrastructure provide the tens of thousands of hospital beds - and ventilators - to treat these patients? Keeping potential carriers of coronavirus under quarantine will slow the spread of the disease in Israel, allowing the healthcare system to cope with the few dozen cases that might appear each week, instead of a massive influx of thousands or tens of thousands at once. The writer served in the IDF for five years and was Chief Medical Officer for the Israeli Navy commandos.
2020-03-09 00:00:00
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