There is no respite in the global and national war against the coronavirus.
A mighty battle is being waged here between the chances of success
and the risk of failure. I would like to share with you
one detail that the government of South Korea recently published:
It said that 91 people who recovered from the coronavirus
were diagnosed again as sick. We are checking this.
If it is correct, the reality is far more complex that than we formerly
believed because it would seem that immunity to the virus is
not automatic immunity. It could be that the virus can
reawaken and cause infection in wide circles.
Therefore, we must all continue to be very cautious.
I must tell you that we have had great success in this war.
Israel is ranked among the safest countries in the world in all indicators
relative to its population. I will give you one example:
Several weeks ago, at the height, we had a 22% daily increase
in the infection rate. Today we are at 4%; the rate
of infection is constantly improving, and it is relatively low, in comparison
to most countries around the world. This also holds for the mortality rate,
the proportion of those who are seriously ill,
and the proportion of those who are on ventilators.
There is a ventilator for whoever requires one.
This also holds for our number of tests per capita.
But if we backtrack prematurely from the necessary and essential steps,
we are liable to pay a very heavy price in human lives.
I know that alongside the health challenge, there is also a great
economic challenge. Previously, in the two major
economic crises of this millennium, I succeeded ― with your help ― in
moving the Israeli economy on to great achievements.
We emerged from the crises and the Israeli economy flourished.
It is my intention, together with you, to do this again.
We have already formulated the economic plan.
The immediate economic aid is underway.
But we are currently preparing an economic plan for a gradual
and responsible exit from the economic lockdown
of the corona crisis.
I cannot over-emphasize that even if the coronavirus is in retreat, there
is no guarantee that it will not return. The virus is liable to attack again;
there have already been such situations in the world.
Therefore, cautious steps will gradually be implemented
in the country and around the world until a coronavirus vaccine is found.
Until a coronavirus vaccine is found, we are in a single reality.
Only when a coronavirus vaccine is found will we be able to move on
to the world of tomorrow, which will be like the world of yesterday.
But this is not the situation at the moment; therefore, everything will
continue to be managed responsibly in order to protect
the most precious thing we have ― life itself.
The unit’s development teams have converted the operational
production line to produce compressed medical oxygen,
according to the accepted standards.
It is important to note that this production line
is based on compressed gas, and not on liquid oxygen
which is used by various health organizations.
For all our partners across the world, who have containers and oxygen
systems, it is possible to carry out these simple actions according to the
relevant standards in order to support local health systems.