Ronni Gamzu, the “tsar” who was forced to reconfine Israel

Two months in hell. Since the end of July, Doctor Ronni Gamzu has taken on an impossible charge: he coordinates the response of the Israeli state to the epidemic caused by the coronavirus, which is rising dramatically in the country. It was he, nicknamed the “corona tsar”, who advocated a national reconfinement, which came into force on September 18. He who runs the television sets, town halls and hospitals, to restore a minimum of confidence in the government, when the Israelis do not understand how they could have fallen so low.

Hadn’t the “start-up nation” faced the first wave better than others, by closing its borders and confining quickly? This is its great failure. Mr. Gamzu had promised to try everything not to resort to this ” nuclear weapon “. But what else to do, when the country has recorded one of the highest infection rates in the world for three weeks, bordering on 7,000 new cases per day, for a population of 9 million people? The number of deaths since the start of the epidemic remains limited (more than 1,300), and the medical system can still hold out, but the teams are running out. On Monday, two hospitals announced that they were referring Covid-19 patients to other establishments, for lack of space.

Vanity and unconsciousness

The post of “tsar” which fell to Mr. Gamzu is an administrative UFO: a sort of French scientific council all by itself. Supposed to have full powers over tests, epidemiological investigations and quarantines, the doctor is still awaiting his mission letter. Several refused the post before him: it took a part of vanity and unconsciousness to burn yourself there. Mr. Gamzu has plenty of it. At 54, this gynecologist by training, surgeon with recognized talent, headed the Ministry of Health and then the Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, one of the first in the country.

Renowned intelligent and hardworking, fiercely independent, he is aware of his role as a lightning rod for the government. It is because the Prime Minister, Benyamin Netanyahu, can no longer afford in this bad patch to embody alone the fight against the virus. ” Maybe Bibi [Nétanyahou], or any other official, thinks I’m a scapegoat, he recognizes. But my mandate comes from the people: it is with them that I must rebuild confidence. “

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