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| Thousands protest economic situation amid coronavirus crisis in Tel Aviv, July 11, 2020 |
The Jerusalem Post reported (July 12), “Some 80,000 protesters gathered in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square on
Saturday to voice their anger at the failed policies of Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and Finance Minister Israel Katz, who promised to help the nation’s
economy during the COVID-19 crisis.”
Rabin Square is about 100 meters wide and 200 meters
long, so its area is 20,000 square meters. Since there were 80,000 protesters,
there were four people per square meter. That is obviously in violation of the
two-meter social distancing guideline.
The 80,000 protesters could not wait a few days to see if
the government’s NIS 80 billion rescue package will be delivered? They
endangered all of us. COVID-19 is a serious disease and it won’t stop until 40%
to 70% of the population gets infected and R effective gets below 1. But this
can only happen when either herd immunity is reached or a vaccine becomes
available. With no lockdown, an infectious person can move around, but since
due to herd immunity there are so few susceptible people left that by the time
he finds one he is not infectious anymore.
Since the vaccine won’t be available until the beginning
of next year and we are still very far away from herd immunity, it is essential
that the rate of new infections is controlled and that it does not explode like
it did in the UK at the beginning of the pandemic.
Young people should understand that they are also
vulnerable and that there are COVID-19 patients who have had the disease for
more than four months. Breaking guidelines that are there to protect the health
system from being overwhelmed is irresponsible and just stupid.
MLADEN ANDRIJASEVIC
Beersheba
MLADEN ANDRIJASEVIC
Beersheba
