With an estimated 100,000 people confirmed to have COVID-19 in a 100 countries, including over 500 cases in three dozen U.S. states, it’s time that countries begin to tackle the continuing spread of the virus as if it were a war. All essential resources at the federal, state, provincial and local levels must be diverted to preparing for the worst scenario. Our policies need to shift from containment of an outbreak to “mitigation,” which means acknowledging that the tried-and-true public health measures of isolating the sick and quarantining their contacts are no longer enough. The virus is quickly spreading. So steps must be taken to minimize deaths from the disease and to slow its spread so that hospitals are not overwhelmed. Furthermore, priorities must be directed to protecting the most vulnerable, especially the elderly with underlying health conditions.
The first and foremost policy is to ensure that good and reliable information about the virus and prevention is made continuously to the public. Avenues of misinformation must be dealt with in order to avoid a panic and the hoarding of medical supplies by persons at less risk to the health impact of the virus. Front line medical and other emergency personnel must be provided with the proper equipment and logistical support to deal with outbreaks. Facilities must be set up to deal with extensive testing for COVID-19 and mandatory self-quarantine in homes or designated facilities must be enforced.
As in the cases of quarantining persons on military bases coming from cruise ships or hot spots who may have been exposed to the virus, the military may need to be activated to assist in enforcing policies and practices. Hot spots will have to be treated as if they were war zones. No one is suggesting at this time that we shut down complete cities as was done in China, but various options will have to be considered to mitigate any larger local outbreaks. Hopefully, given timely and accurate information by the authorities, every citizen will do their share as part of an overall mitigation strategy.
COVID-19 has been in the U.S. and Canada for some time, and the likelihood of its spreading is certain. Much of the news lately has tended to concentrate on the global and domestic economic impacts. However, the time has come to lay out coordinated and enhanced national strategies to combat this increasing threat to the public’s health at large, and the most vulnerable persons in particular. Every available resource that countries have must be used to buy more time for the development of a vaccine and for the research to be done for treatments. Comforting words no longer suffice. What one needs now is deliberate and speedy action. After all, we are at war.
FROLITICKS 