20-20 Hindsight – but Certainly Useful for the Next Pandemic (AUDIO INTERVIEW)

The Media Line speaks with an Israeli researcher who feels that he and his colleagues now have a leg up on handling coronavirus without decimating the economy

Prof. David Gershon and Prof. Alexander Lipson of the Jerusalem Business School at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, together with Prof. Hagai Levine of the university’s School of Public Health, have concluded that a lockdown was unnecessary in controlling the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in Israel, as well as in other countries.

In “Managing the COVID-19 Pandemic without Destroying the Economy,” the three argue that a proper policy of social distancing, mandatory facemasks in public, testing and 14 days of self-quarantine for all those exhibiting symptoms would have been enough. They base their conclusions on real-time data from recent research articles from different countries, as well as information on infection rates, hospitalization, the numbers of patients in intensive-care units, and fatalities.

The Media Line spoke with Prof. Gershon to learn more about the study – which some obviously will call 20-20 hindsight, although it will be useful if and when a second wave of infections confronts us.