Public health and policy experts predict how society will function after we exit coronavirus emergency
The World Health Organization declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a global pandemic on March 11, 2020, and eventually the UN public health agency will announce that the illness has entered an endemic stage.
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This will happen when there is enough confidence that Covid-19 has become more predictable and manageable.
It can be hard to imagine what a post-pandemic world will look like as casualties continue to mount with 373 million cases and 5.66 million deaths over the past two years, according to the website Our World in Data.
Public health and policy experts gave i24NEWS some perspective on what the endemic phase of the coronavirus in Israel and beyond could entail while cautioning that the fight against the disease will continue long after the pandemic is officially over.
Will we still wear masks?
Once only common in certain east Asian countries, face coverings have become ubiquitous in Western societies as protection against airborne viral spread.
But will masks still be used in the months and years after the pandemic?
"I am sure that 'normality' and closeness which are so important for us will drive us eventually to throw away the masks and to give up social distancing," said Dr. Itzchak Levy, head of Sheba Medical Center's Infectious Disease Institute and post-corona clinic.
However, Levy predicts that mask-wearing won't entirely disappear as the public has increased its level of awareness of the dangers of infectious diseases and pandemics, so during the winter months masks could still be worn in closed spaces.
Prof. Nadav Davidovitch, an epidemiologist and head of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev's School of Public Health, told i24NEWS that masks could still be used for people at elevated risk of respiratory illness when local outbreaks occur.
"When you don't have widespread community transmission it doesn't make sense to wear masks," Davidovitch said.
Will the Green Pass go away?
Amid the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant, Israel's Health Ministry is mulling reducing or removing entirely the Green Pass rules that allow entry to many public places to those who are vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19.
In a post-pandemic world, will the Green Pass and other measures such as airport PCR testing still be necessary?
"I don't think that in the future [the Green Pass] is something that is going to be used," Davidovitch said.
However, Davidovitch emphasized that digitally storing vaccination status and other medical information on a mobile device could still be presented in certain situations, especially when traveling and in need of emergency medical care.
"It will be great that people will have the vaccination status on their cellular phone. We can maybe use these applications to introduce all our vaccination history," the professor said.
What about other public health measures?
Israel recently shortened the COVID-19 quarantine period from seven to five days and ended isolation for children exposed to a coronavirus carrier despite concerns over pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome (PIMS).
Experts interviewed by i24NEWS agreed that in the eventual post-pandemic world, the isolation and testing schemes will not be as prominent.
"The moment is indeed coming soon where we will no longer feel the need for special rules about isolating people who have been merely exposed to Covid, or for testing people for Covid. The need for such isolation and testing was real, but it may be getting less relevant as time goes on," said Adam Rose, associate professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Braun School of Public Health.
Will the massive temporary PCR testing complex at Ben Gurion Airport be dismantled during the endemic phase?
"Airport PCR tests will go away very soon I believe," Levy said.
So, if there is no going back to life before Covid, what can society do to better manage the disease during the endemic phase and prevent another pandemic?
"An endemic is very tricky because if we mean by it that we are going to return to be very passive like we were against influenza and other upper respiratory infections, I think this will be really frustrating," Davidovitch said.
Demand for at-home rapid antigen tests has surged during the omicron outbreak, and Davidovitch doesn't see why home testing cannot be a regular feature of post-pandemic societies to help prevent local transmission so when people are sick, they stay home.
"There might be the option for us buying home tests and when we don't feel well staying at home and maybe we can have a kit that can be used not just for Covid but also for influenza and other illnesses."
Historically societies have changed after experiencing a pandemic, according to Meir Rubin, executive director of the Jerusalem-based Kohelet Policy Forum, and he believes that we are on the cusp of a major change after we exit the Covid pandemic.
For example, the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the need for advanced indoor air filtration systems, and this presents a massive opportunity to clean the air we breathe.
"We have a chance to change for the better with clean water, food and air. Clean air is a necessity – every house should have HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters. Cleaning the air that we breathe will help against other viruses," Rubin explained.
"Also have compassion for each other," Rubin added. "And care about kids."
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
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