May Edition 2020

5 How has Israel coped with COVID-19? Israel’s Swift Response The whirlwind of the Coronavirus pandemic has fundamentally changed daily lives in Israel, as it has around the world. Aside from the obvious medical concerns, it has severely impacted the healthcare sector and ushered in an era of economic uncertainty. As the lockdown begins to ease and we adjust to the ‘new normal,’ what will that look like? With an unemployment rate in Israel in April of more than 20% and challenges to whole sectors and supply chains, where do businesses go from here? What are the most pressing concerns? We caught up with Israel’s most prominent law firms to learn of the challenges and issues affecting their clients. As theworldwrestledwith howto respond, in Israel, therewas a swift anddramatic response. With infections low and an exit strategy emerging, this has worked somewhat, so far. In an April 13 article in Forbes magazine , Israel came top in a poll looking at safety ranking, examining measures such as quarantine efficiency, government management efficiency, monitoring and detection, and emergency treatment readiness. Strict lockdowns, early action and technology have undoubtedly played their part, with Israel leveraging its technological prowess – notwithout controversy - to help keep the public safe by using technology to track the cellphones of those who may have been infected, drawing on the country’s expertise inmachine learning and automation. Law firms generally have agreed on the response . Mark Phillips , P artner at Herzog Fox & Neeman (“HFN”) agrees: “On the whole, the sense here is that the government response has been adequate and has been relatively successful in limiting the potential spread of the virus.” “Israel was among the earliest countries to respond, though not by wide testing and surveillance, but rather by limiting international traveling and enforcing a country-wide stay-at-home policy that apparentlyworked,” sai d Dr.David Tadmor ,C o-Chairman andManagingPartner of Tadmor Levy & Co .