Reason for concern? This is why a senior doctor estimates: "There could be a lockdown""

December 31, 2021   

Prof. Dror Meborach, director of the Corona Department at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, was interviewed today (Friday) on Nissim Mashal's program on 103FM and addressed the effects of the rapid increase in morbidity. Are you crazy? Is your child unprotected? One in every 150 children who contracted the virus was hospitalized Disaster in Bnei Brak: A 3-year-old toddler pulled the boiling pot that was placed on the gas stove in the kitchen ""From the perspective of the health system, there could be a lockdown. If things are of such magnitude that they oblige us - there will be no choice, and even the most liberal minister who does not want a lockdown will declare a lockdown," he said. Prof. Mevorach addressed the situation in his department at the hospital: "I can tell you that Hadassah is currently leading the number of people hospitalized with Omicron in the country, which is not in its best interest. We currently have 20 hospitalized patients, 16 of whom have Omicron. We see that the flow is increasing. This is definitely disturbing or a cause for concern. We saw what is happening in Europe and what happened in South Africa." However, Prof. Mevorach admits that the health system was already at full capacity: "We were already in the collapse of the health system. No one likes to call it that, but during the third wave, there were about 1,200 seriously ill patients hospitalized, and this undoubtedly affected the care of patients. A collapse is not what happened in Italy, where people died in the streets." He referred to the New Year's Eve celebrations expected to take place today: "These things are not simple. I think we need to impose a few more restrictions. Although in the end the most important thing is public responsibility and understanding of the situation we are in. That's why I wouldn't go to a New Year's Eve party with 100 participants tonight. Whether you can take my suggestion or not, I think that's the responsibility of all of us." In this context, Prof. Meborach was asked whether it was possible that the Ministry of Health was leading a mass infection model - and replied: "I don't think so. The Ministry of Health, according to the instructions it sends to hospitals, really doesn't want mass infection. It understands that this could increase the collapse of hospitals, and therefore it doesn't lead to that. The policy is not a policy of mass infection.".   Regarding Corona in children, Prof. Meborach noted: "Children are a vulnerable population because they are much less vaccinated. At these ages, we will see the spread of the disease. Of course, few children are hospitalized, but when there are a lot of infections, unfortunately, children will also end up in the inpatient department. We also do not know about the post-Corona effect as a result of Omicron compared to Delta, whether it will be the same or less." On this, Prof. Meborach expanded: "There are two dangerous diseases: One is the systemic inflammatory syndrome that can appear a week after Corona and cause the collapse of systems, usually temporarily. Especially children. The second thing is the disease called Long Covid, which is a syndrome of fatigue, pain, and lack of concentration that can appear after the disease itself." Prof. Meborach sought to clarify to the public: "We are in the most contagious variant, everyone needs to take personal responsibility. Everyone needs to check that they have been vaccinated 3 times, that is the most important thing. Then personal caution and we will get through it - don't worry.".