Unintended Consequences Plague Israel’s Re-Openings

It is apparently a far simpler task to shut down an economy than it is to reopen it. At least by Israel’s experience. The nation views itself among those who were most successful in managing the pandemic, the government imposing draconian measures early-on. The result has been that it is one of the first to reopen significant segments of society. But typical of the pratfalls is a photo published by the YNet news portal depicting a mass of humanity squeezed together as they fight for seats on buses at the central bus station. The Health Ministry is allowing only half of the seats on buses to be filled in deference to social distancing but the mechanics of on loading passengers known for their testiness on a good day has resulted in chaos.  Overall, some 16,000 cases of coronavirus have been logged-in while more than 11,000 have recovered. Nationwide, 64 patients are on respirators.