Over 100 doctors sign a letter protesting gov't coronavirus policies
"We insist that the steps taken to handle the coronavirus are dangerous, they have no relation to medicine," the letter concluded.
By SARAH BEN-NUNUpdated: DECEMBER 20, 2020 10:29SHAARE ZEDEK hospital team members in the coronavirus ward.(photo credit: NATI SHOHAT/FLASH90)
More than 100 doctors and medical personnel have signed a letter in protest of the restrictive measures the government plans to take to curb coronavirus infections, N12 reported on Saturday. An organized body of doctors will make in-person announcements on Sunday morning."We, the doctors of the State of Israel, heavily protest the restrictions taken to slow the spread of the coronavirus, including lockdown, curfew, shutting down the education system..." they wrote. "Part of our job is to stop this slippery slope that is robbing individuals of their rights and freedoms."They insisted that if proper policies existed, there would be no need to shut down society after it has opened up, and that Israel's healthcare system would be able to handle the number of COVID-19 patients.The goal of the letter is to provide a voice of reason, based on data and experience, to weigh in on how the coronavirus has been dealt with, while millions of lives are still at stake.Cases began to rise with the Hanukkah holiday, which saw no new coronavirus restrictions, surpassing 2,500 new cases per day. A few weeks ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said they would back harsher restrictions if such a rise were to happen.That could mean that marketplaces and shops could close, sending store owners into an economic crisis they may not be able to shake.Some of the doctors who will speak in representation of an emergency council for the coronavirus include Professor Mordechai Shani, the chancellor at the Sheba Fund for Health Services and Research (R.A) at the Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, and Dr. Bashara Basharat, former director-general of the Scottish Hospital in Nazareth, and current chair of the Society for the Advancement of the Health of the Arab Population, among others."We insist that the steps taken to handle the coronavirus are dangerous, they have no relation to medicine," the letter concluded.
