Minister Yuli Edelstein: 'Appointed a special director for the campaign against the coronavirus pandemic''

July 6, 2020   

Health Minister Yuli Edelstein held a briefing this evening (Monday) on the background of the fight against the coronavirus, and declared that he will appoint a special director against the coronavirus pandemic. He began by addressing the new restrictions that the government decided on. "Today was a difficult government meeting, at the end of which we made a decision. Every clause in the decision has an impact on the lives of many citizens, their livelihoods, their leisure time and their lifestyle. "This should not be taken lightly. Indeed, an integral part of the government's decision is providing assistance to businesses that will be affected, and I am glad that the Prime Minister instructed the Minister of Finance to present a practical plan within 48 hours. Alongside this, every clause can also contribute to improving the morbidity situation. The equation is simple: a decrease in morbidity - strengthening the economy, an increase in morbidity - real damage to the economy. In order to save lives and to save the economy, we must flatten the curve. "The state of the economy and the health situation are interdependent. And we live in a balance between the two. We need to understand - the difficult steps the government took today give hope. That in a week or two we will not have to declare a lockdown for a long period. No one wants that." According to him, "The fight against the coronavirus is a complicated, difficult and complex fight - against a pandemic whose behavior is not always predictable, an elusive enemy that knows how to hide well - the feeling that accompanies the entire world is a sense of uncertainty that creates great frustration. In the face of this pandemic, we make decisions seriously, after in-depth discussions, in a way that will allow us to conduct ourselves dynamically. Just like a commander on the battlefield." The Minister of Health announced that he will appoint a special director for the fight against the coronavirus. "The treatment of the coronavirus is shoulder to shoulder with the government and the public. Only together will we defeat the pandemic. So what are we doing? First, I have decided to appoint a special director for the campaign against the coronavirus pandemic. I will announce my selection in the near future. His role will be to comprehensively address the issue, starting with the testing system, through breaking the chain of infection and other actions related to the virus." Edelstein added: "I would like to apologize to many citizens who have not received a response in recent days. I would like to announce a significant increase in personnel at the Ministry of Health's call centers. This is in order to provide a response to the thousands of those who are in isolation due to the telephone location. Later this week, the Home Front Command will reinforce the call center with hundreds of additional soldiers and the waiting time will be significantly shortened. We are also constantly increasing the epidemiological investigation system in order to shorten the chains of infection." He said, "To reinforce this, an important tool developed by our computing system has been added. This is a smart system with artificial intelligence that is capable of tracing all the chains of infection that have been studied, and showing at the push of a button all the chains of infection and how many generations there were in that chain of infection. The system is going into operation these days and will also help in breaking the chain of infection. "I want to say in conclusion: We are studying the epidemic, we are also preparing for another, more difficult wave, in the winter. But together – we will win.".