In an interview with 103FM radio, Barbash, who is the former director-general of the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv as well as former Health Ministry director-general, said that due to the coronavirus outbreak coinciding with the expected return of the seasonal flu, the upcoming winter is going to be exceptionally challenging. "We are headed to a long lockdown in the coming winter," he said.Barbash further commented on the government's decision to impose new restrictions, which will come into effect Friday at 5:00 p.m.
The decision is part of a larger package of restrictions intended to curb the rapid spread of the coronavirus. Following the decision to impose a lockdown during the weekends, Barbash said that it has the potential to offer a partial solution; but, he remains uncertain about the timing of the decision. He added that much is dependent on how next week is going to look like, since it will reveal the effectiveness of the measures implemented a week and a half ago.
As the number of the infected continues to rise, it remains clear that steps must be taken to stop the steep incline. Barbash reiterated that he is in favor of closing down potentially crowded spaces but whether a full lockdown should be in effect on weekends is still debatable. "I don't know. Only in the next few days we will know. If the situation does not change, we might have to go for it," said Barbash.
In response to claims about the supposed inconsistency of the restrictions, Barbash argued that there simply isn't enough information regarding the behavior of the coronavirus to properly determine which measures are effective against it and which are not. This makes it difficult to decide about the right way to combat it, thus partially explaining the overall confusion regarding the logic behind the restrictions.
Barbash also commented on the beaches' closure, saying that he does not think that there was an actual need to follow through with it. He cited a similar decision by the Californian governor from two months ago, who eventually ordered to hold the closing of the beaches following a public uproar. "The price for limiting the access to the beaches in comparison to the risk of getting sick with coronavirus is not justifiable," Barbash claimed. Instead, the local authorities of Tel Aviv and Bat Yam should focus their efforts on preventing people from thronging on the beaches since the chances of being infected with coronavirus in the open air are low.