Gamzu: Public nonchalance, government mismanagement reason for lockdown

Israel’s coronavirus czar Prof. Ronni Gamzu said that Israel is in the midst of a second lockdown due to the “nonchalant” attitude of the public and government “mismanagement” of the ongoing health crisis in an interview with the Associated Press.Gamzu also accepted a portion of the blame for his own, noting that he understands the gravity of his position and what the consequences of his decisions entail – affecting lives as well as livelihoods.“There are many uncertainties,” he told AP. “And you have to make decisions that affect people’s life, people’s habits, social life and living — wages and earnings, businesses. Any kind of decision that you take, it’s not a medical decision. It’s a social economic decision.”The Health Ministry reported Saturday that 8,315 new cases were diagnosed the day before, out of 62,035 people screened for coronavirus, which is a 13.4% positive rate. Some 728 people were in serious condition, including 200 on ventilators – a peak. The death toll rose to 1,441.Even though the infection rate is one of the highest in the world per capita, Gamzu is still optimistic, understanding that there is still a long, tough battle ahead for Israel – drawing his positivity from his bout with cancer.“I had my personal crisis with the eye cancer. It was a hard time, really, a crisis, personal one. You see almost death coming,” he said. “But going through a personal experience like I went through, it gives you proportion. And you can handle such hardships and criticism.”While Gamzu is hopeful Israel can turn itself around, he still admits to underestimating the difficulty of the position he assumed as the coronavirus czar. Whereas initially he believed that he would be a good fit for the position given the role, but that with the added uncertainty and lack of knowledge with regard to the novel coronavirus he began to realize he was dealing with a different animal.However, the tough czar has met pushback from government ministers left and right with clear concise reasoning throughout his short tenure in the position. Whether it be the reopening of schools or prayers in large capsules, Gamzu has stuck to his strategy and guns even if the public or the government did not wish to fall in line.He has maintained his criticism not only over the government mishandlings, but also of public attitude. As the public became more comfortable, returning to normalcy, the virus tip-toed back into the limelight as people began to ignore social distancing protocol – even Netanyahu said after the first wave that ISraeli’s should go out and “have fun.”“I believe that he as many others didn’t realize that getting out of the lockdown must be very careful and gradual,” said Gamzu. “No real professional within the ministry or within the government raised the red flag. Sometimes a prime minister needs that.”Gamzu expects the second lockdown to bring down infection rates to a manageable and “comfortable” level within the next four weeks.“It’s hard work,” Gamzu said. “Do not declare victory. Do not declare failure. Go ahead and still fight.”
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