(Times of Israel) Haviv Rettig Gur - Moshe Bar Siman-Tov, 43, director-general of Israel's Health Ministry, is the nation's point man in the fight to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Israel's early and vigorous response to the coronavirus outbreak was deemed extreme by many observers. Israel did more to limit travel from more countries, and did it faster, than any other nation. Bar Siman-Tov led an aggressive effort to slow the virus' penetration into Israel - not because he thought he could stop it, but because slowing its spread would prevent overtaxing Israel's hospitals and health infrastructures. Israel only has so many respirators and lung specialists. If the number of ill at any given time could be kept at levels that Israel's health infrastructure could accommodate, far more would survive infection. At the same time, several industries that depend on international travel and large gatherings of people - hotels, tour companies, private bus companies, event halls, airlines, conference organizers, caterers - are being devastated by the sudden disappearance of most of their business for the immediately foreseeable future.
2020-03-11 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive