Israel’s inability to handle corona known before pandemic arrived

Israel’s inability to handle a pandemic crisis was known prior to the global outbreak of the coronavirus, according to information published Monday by the State Comptroller.

The report focused on the possibility of an influenza pandemic but showed that Israel was not ready to fight any pandemic, including the novel coronavirus, while highlighting the country’s lack of strategic planning.

“Before the outbreak of the current pandemic, hospital occupancy rates in Israel were already the highest in the developed world, while its mortality rates from infectious diseases, which doubled in the past two decades alone, are not only higher than in every other developed country, they are 73% higher than the second-ranked country,” said Prof. Dan Ben-David, president and founder of the Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research and a faculty member at Tel Aviv University’s Department of Public

Policy.

The healthcare system has been under-budgeted for many years; medical staff and all other resources were overloaded even before the pandemic,” added Dr. Yotam Rosner, head of Information, Research and Development for Physicians for Human Rights. “So, we are not fully prepared to handle the coronavirus.”

In general, the state comptroller report highlighted the lack of intensive care beds, medical staff and equipment, which would enable effective treatment in the case of a pandemic, and bolster capabilities to manage