At 6 pm Thursday evening, Israelis across the country answered a call to publicly show appreciation for the heroic efforts of the nation’s medical personnel in combatting the spread of COVID-19, known commonly as the coronavirus.

In nearly every town and village, people confined to their homes by new government regulations went out to their balconies and broke into a two-minute round of applause.

Israel’s response to the coronavirus has been swift and effective, and that is thanks first and foremost to the thousands of doctors, nurses and paramedics daily putting themselves at risk to treat the infected and shield the rest of society from the virus.

Nearly 1,000 doctors and nurses have themselves been sent into quarantine after coming into contact with the infected. Also worthy of special recognition are the thousands of Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedics who are tasked with administering coronavirus tests and checking on the self-quarantined, in addition to handling the usual cases of illness and injury.

These are the people on the frontlines of this war, and just as we do for our soldiers in times of armed conflict, Israel made sure the medical personnel know that they are not alone and are appreciated more than anyone can fully express.