Health experts in both locales express misgivings, say neither place ready
Many governments around the world have either eased restrictions introduced to fight the coronavirus pandemic or will do so in the coming days and weeks.
The lines are clearly drawn, with health officials on one side, and economists and business figures on the other. Health officials say they understand the financial sector’s eagerness to lift restrictions and insist that they are not opposed to a reasonable resumption of business activities, but warn that softening the lockdowns might backfire and produce more illness and death.
Israel
Israel’s cabinet debated its coronavirus exit strategy on Thursday, deciding to loosen some restrictions, perhaps as soon as Sunday.
Dr. Alexander Coman, of Tel Aviv University, an expert on hi-tech issues, told The Media Line that two power centers within the government were clashing, with one seeming to have the upper hand.
“This is the result of debate between the Finance Ministry pushing for relaxation to restart the economy, and the Health Ministry pushing for a tight curfew to fight the plague,” Coman said. “The Finance Ministry has prevailed.”
Eytan Sheshinski, professor emeritus of public finance at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told The Media Line that the government measures had significantly hurt the economy, and that because of the relatively low number of cases in Israel, there should be a gradual softening of restrictions.
“I’m for easing out of the lockdown that Israel currently has in place, and this must be done carefully, with particular care regarding the ‘hot spots’ that we have in certain communities,” he said.
The “hot spots” he referred to are ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods and towns, and Israeli-Arab communities, both of which have high rates of infection.
The government has called on people to continue maintaining social distance and wearing face masks. The Health Ministry is now testing about 10,000 persons per day for the virus. Sheshinski said that if these efforts continue, more businesses can reopen.
“Barbers, shopping centers, personal service businesses should return [to work],” he stated. “I understand that for some services, social distancing may not be possible. That’s why I say the providers of these services should be tested and cleared of carrying the virus.”
Sheshinski stressed that if closures continue, even if just for weeks, the impact on the economy would be severe.
“It could be disastrous for small businesses. [They] will go out of business despite the government providing them with capital infusions and tax postponements. All this is temporary relief – and perhaps inadequate,” he said.
An official at a testing laboratory in Tel Aviv, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Media Line he opposed easing the restrictions.
“We can’t do mass-testing. We don’t have testing kits for all. Also, there’s a shortage of facemasks and ventilators if things get worse,” he explained.
Prof. Bishara Bisharat, a lecturer at Safed’s Azrieli School of Medicine in the Galilee, told The Media Line that maintaining physical distance was a must for life to slowly return to some sort of normalcy.
“Gradually, yes. I mean, not all cities and villages,” he said.
“In most of the Jewish community, yes; the Arab community should wait a little longer,” he stated. “Any thought of reopening schools and resuming life should not be dealt with in the same way in all regions. The religious Jewish areas [should be approached] in a different way from the Arab community.”
Wearing facemasks and using hand sanitizer are a must, Bisharat said.
“You cannot freeze the whole country for an additional month or two,” he noted.
“If schools return to operation, the fear would not be for the children because children infect one another, but they are outside the group at risk. The teachers should exercise maximum care and keep physical distance from the children. However, the fear is that the children will bring the coronavirus home with them, infecting their families,” Bisharat said.
“Arab households are not small,” he continued. “We have extended families. It is possible that [young people] will infect their grandparents, and the elderly have chronic diseases. Infection can spread and be catastrophic in our Arab society. I wrote a letter to the Education Ministry warning them of the consequences of returning to school too soon.”
The Palestinian Territories
In the Palestinian territories, life came to a screeching halt last month after the first cases of the coronavirus were identified. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas declared a month-long state of emergency on March 5, which was renewed a month later.
The restrictions on movement led to tens of thousands of people entering quarantine and the closure of many businesses.
PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has now announced that certain businesses will reopen on Friday, and the decision to allow some bookshops, dry cleaners, stationary shops and electrical stores to resume operation has received mixed reviews.
Thabit Abo Al Ros, a financial expert at Palestine Technical University in the West Bank, told The Media Line that the decision would not help the ailing economy.
“The Palestinian Authority felt the need to allow certain businesses to reopen because of the tremendous pressure exerted on it by the business community, and also to give the people a breather,” he said.
Abo Al Ros said he favored allowing some businesses to reopen, but disagreed with the prime minister’s selection.
“Such a decision should have been left to the [PA’s regional] governors, as they are best informed about their areas,” he stated, adding that the businesses being allowed to reopen were small and did not employee large numbers of workers.
“Lifting some of the restrictions are very critical so that we can get people back to work. The government has a duty to get many sectors of the economy back on track as quickly as possible,” he said.
“Palestine cannot remain under closure while neighboring countries are gradually moving to open commercial and industrial facilities,” he noted.
“There are some sectors whose reopening will be greatly delayed, namely the hotels, tourism, schools, universities, public transportation, nursery schools, kindergartens, wedding halls, summer excursions, and all events, activities and gatherings of a social nature,” he added, “and all of this will reduce economic growth in Palestine.”
Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative political party and a physician by training, told The Media Line that people could not wait for a vaccine.
“A vaccine is going to take a long time, at least a year,” he explained. “There is no objection to the reopening of these businesses with a limited number of workers, as long as people [in general] are committed to being in home quarantine.”
But Barghouti warned that a quick and mass lifting of the lockdown would be “catastrophic” for the Palestinian health system.
“First of all, Palestine cannot bear many serious cases because we do not have the infrastructure to face that, and therefore I stress the need to adhere to staying home and not becoming careless,” he said.
“We can’t afford to become complacent after all this,” he went on. “It is still too early for a change.”