‘It’s over’: Israelis call to declare COVID-19 closed
by Yudi Sherman
Israeli medical commentators are calling for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic and the related restrictions that have been imposed on the Israeli populace. With the Omicron variant reported to be more like the flu than previous COVID-19 strains – and perhaps less severe than the common flu – medical professionals are beginning to demand declaring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The time has come to announce that it’s over,” said Arad Nir in a panel on Channel 12 News Friday night. “Omicron is not a serious illness.”
Nir said that he spoke with various health experts who said that we should start phasing out the pandemic.
The international medical community has long been saying that Omicron is mild, with even the South African doctors who discovered the strain expressing confusion over the panic resulting from rising cases. However, some governments around the world who were quick to impose draconian COVID laws, including the State of Israel, have been slow to lift restrictions on personal freedoms in the face of Omicron’s relative harmlessness.
“Enough testing,” Nir added. “Enough with the isolations. Enough with the masks. Enough with the green pass. The emotional cost and general health impact of these is worse than the virus itself.”
The Israeli government announced at the end of last week that it will no longer be requiring students to enter isolation after coming in contact with confirmed coronavirus patients. Instead, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced that beginning Thursday, children will need to be tested bi-weekly with home testing kits provided by the government.
“It’s a small step in the right direction, but it’s too small a step,” said Nir. “We need to start behaving in healthy ways. There is no significance to the testing, masks, or green pass.”
Despite thousands of cases, Israel’s Health Ministry was able to claim one single death from the Omicron variant on December 28, 2021.
