TEL AVIV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th July, 2020) The Israeli Health Ministry's director for public health services Siegal Sadetzki announced on Tuesday she would step down over criticism of the government's way of handling the coronavirus outbreak amid a sharp increase in new cases.
"For several weeks, the compass guiding the handling of the pandemic has lost direction. Despite regular warnings in various settings and forums, we are witnessing with frustration that time is running out. Against this backdrop, I have reached the conclusion that, given the new conditions that have been created, in which my professional opinion is not accepted, I can no longer effectively assist in halting the spread of the virus," Sadetzki said in a statement, as quoted by the Haaretz daily.
Sadetzki commended the way the government handled the outbreak before the reopening of the economy, but was very critical about what happened after.
More specifically, the ex-official believes that the first phase was a success because it "put people's lives before any other consideration," while the second phase was about a quick reopening of the economy.
"The achievements of the first wave were canceled out by the broad, quick opening of the economy. The transition to the second phase in Israel was much more extensive and faster than in other Western countries. The atmosphere in which the illness was addressed and the way decisions were made changed fundamentally, and the results became apparent with the sharp increase in the infection curve," Sadetzki was quoted by Haaretz as saying.
The daily increase in the number of coronavirus cases in Israel has gone acutely up over the past week, more than doubling the number since reopening to steadily over 1,000 per day.
Israel's cumulative toll, as of Tuesday, has reached 31,886 confirmed cases, including 342 deaths and 18,192 recoveries.
