Brazil is not in Israel’s plans for the country’s two major investments after vaccinating the majority of its population: coronavirus diplomacy and the resumption of foreign tourism.
With a low number of illnesses – only 50 new people infected a day and almost no deaths – life is almost back to normal in the country of 9.3 million people. Now, authorities are preparing to vaccinate children between the ages of 12 and 15 as well, which should be done as soon as the US regulatory agency (FDA) gives the US the green light.
When that happens, 600,000 children will join the universe of nearly 5.5 million Israelis (60% of the population) who have already taken at least one dose of the vaccine. According to official records, an additional 800,000 people have already recovered from Covid-19 in the country.
Precisely because of the good numbers, Israel’s Foreign Ministry has started offering assistance to other countries, starting with India. The Israelis have been sending shipments with thousands of oxygen generators, ventilators, medicine and other medical equipment since Tuesday (4).
“The extension of emergency aid is the expression of the deep friendship between our countries, in times of need in India,” Chancellor Gabi Ashkenazi said, recalling that at the start of the coronavirus crisis, the India helped Israel by approving the supply of masks. and raw material for drugs.
According to Tammy Ziv of the Economic Department of the Chancellery, the expedition includes cooperation with private companies, bilateral institutions and NGOs.
In early March, a delegation from Brazil headed by then Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo spent three days in Israel to negotiate the completion, in Brazil, of phases 2 and 3 of the EXO-CD24 nasal spray trials. , developed by the Center Doctor Sourasky in Tel Aviv. The delegation also signed a memorandum of understanding with Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem to carry out phase 3 testing of the locally developed vaccine against the coronavirus, BriLife.
Asked about possible help to Brazil, now interlocutors from the Israeli Chancellery told Folha that “there is a dialogue on issues related to Covid, including cooperation”, but that there has not been official request from Brazil.
Neighboring Argentina and Uruguay, for their part, receive support from Israeli hospitals. Hadassah, from Jerusalem, sent five Israeli experts to Buenos Aires on Friday (7) after reaching an agreement with the Argentine government, which took the initiative to request the mission.
According to the president of the institution, Robert Dorfman, the delegation “will bring essential knowledge and experience to frontline health professionals in Argentina”.
The country’s largest hospital, Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, dispatched a group of specialists to Uruguay on April 26, who remained in the country. The goal was to help Uruguayans fight against viral mutations, especially in Brazil.
According to a statement released by the hospital, the delegation discussed with its Uruguayan hosts “a series of complex logistical operations, such as the installation of a psychiatry and dialysis service” linked to complications caused by Covid- 19. The hospital also pledged to: Donate US $ 200,000 (R $ 1.04 million) in medical supplies, including ventilators and monitors.
“The swing [da viagem] it was extremely positive from several angles: technical-professional, scientific contribution and in relation to the interaction with all groups and public and private institutions ”, declared the Minister of Public Health of Uruguay, Daniel Salinas.
RESUMPTION OF TOURISM
The good vaccination results and the three lockdowns carried out by the Israeli government are also leading to optimism in the tourism sector, one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. From the 23rd, tourists from 14 places will be able to visit Israel, provided they are fully vaccinated: Portugal, USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Malta, Iceland, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia , Singapore and Hong Kong.
Brazil, on the other hand, with the second highest number of deaths from the disease in the world, has been part of another list since Monday (3): that of seven countries with no entry into Israel. Unless special permission is granted, travelers from Brazil, India, Mexico, South Africa, Ukraine, Ethiopia and Turkey are prohibited. Argentina could enter the list in the coming days.
With this, the Israeli Ministry of Health wants to prevent the spread of the Brazilian variant after two Israelis – a vaccinated man and a baby – were diagnosed with the Brazilian mutation of the virus, earlier this month. Both had returned from abroad.
Israel has also implemented new instructions for Israelis returning from these countries. Even people already vaccinated will need to be quarantined for 14 days – or 10 if they have two negative PCR tests.
This is what awaits naturalized Israeli Carioca Daniele Pitkowski, 27, who has lived in Israel for four years. For a year and a half without seeing her parents and after being vaccinated with the two doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, she decided to go to Rio last Saturday (1st), after having spent two weeks of university vacation.
Israel closed its doors in Brazil two days later and no longer faces the mandatory quarantine period. “Everything is still uncertain. I hope you don’t cancel my flight ”.
Daniele says he once imagined that something like this could happen in the face of the spread of the coronavirus in Brazil. “I came with the computer to work remotely. And since the MBA offers hybrid courses, I can also watch it on the internet. At least that makes things a lot easier. “