{"id":14322,"date":"2020-05-11T03:27:05","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T07:27:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/?p=14322"},"modified":"2020-05-17T23:38:54","modified_gmt":"2020-05-18T03:38:54","slug":"what-it-will-take-to-reopen-everything-according-to-the-who","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/what-it-will-take-to-reopen-everything-according-to-the-who\/","title":{"rendered":"What It Will Take to Reopen Everything, According to the WHO"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

In the same way my tiny daughter looks forward to Christmas all year, all of us who are physically distancing look forward to \u201cthings reopening.\u201d Reopening is more a wish than a plan, since most likely we\u2019ll face months of adjusting restriction. We just want things to be back to normal, right? Well, the World Health Organization has set out six prerequisites for easing restrictions<\/a><\/span>. Let\u2019s take a look at what they are. <\/p>\n

These six points are discussed in detail in the WHO\u2019s April 15, 2020 COVID-19 strategy update<\/a><\/span> (see page 10), and summarized in a few tweets here<\/a><\/span>. <\/p>\n

<\/a>Transmission must be controlled<\/h3>\n

This is the first requirement, and it\u2019s a biggie. Transmission has to be under control. <\/p>\n

In other words, we\u2019re not getting out of lockdown until we can be sure that we aren\u2019t at risk every time we get near other people. That means public health officials need to know where all the cases are. No person-to-person transmission going undetected, no people walking around wondering whether they have it. <\/p>\n

We won\u2019t be here until new cases of COVID-19 only exist at \u201ca level of sporadic cases and clusters of cases, all from known contacts or importations.\u201d That\u2019s a situation we haven\u2019t had in the US since about January. <\/p>\n

Controlling transmission also requires that new cases be at a level that hospitals can handle \u201cwith substantial clinical care capacity in reserve.\u201d In other words, if the healthcare system is overwhelmed, we\u2019re not there yet\u2014even if we know where all the cases are. <\/p>\n

<\/a>We need to be able to test and care for everybody<\/h3>\n

This is another big ask. Right now, many people with COVID-19 still can\u2019t get tested for it. The WHO\u2019s guidelines say that everybody with a suspected case should get tested, and they should get their results back within 24 hours. They should also be able to retest to know when they are virus-free again. In the US we are very, very far away from that. <\/p>\n

This point also requires that cases be isolated, and all of their contacts quarantined for 14 days. In short, reopening will only follow a \u201cmajor shift from detecting and treating mainly serious cases to detecting and isolating all cases, irrespective of severity and origin.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>Risk must be minimized in hospitals and nursing homes<\/h3>\n

The third requirement is for \u201chigh-vulnerability settings\u201d where the virus can spread quickly and devastatingly. This includes health care and residential care settings, like assisted living homes. To minimize risk there, workers need to be able to prevent the spread of the disease, which critically includes enough PPE (personal protective equipment like masks and gloves). Our nation is currently facing a severe shortage of PPE, so this is another milestone that is a long way off. <\/p>\n

<\/a>Workplaces also need to reduce risk<\/h3>\n

Even outside of healthcare and residential facilities, people need to be safe at their workplaces. This means being able to practice safe physical distancing, hand washing, and respiratory etiquette (like covering your mouth and nose when you cough). So even when things \u201creopen,\u201d we\u2019re still going to be keeping our distance from each other as much as possible.<\/p>\n

<\/a>We need to watch out for imported cases<\/h3>\n

When we lift restrictions in one place, we still have to be aware of fresh cases of COVID-19 coming in from other places where it\u2019s still rampant. This is the situation we\u2019ve been in with measles for decades<\/a><\/span>: every case here can be traced back to somebody who brought it from another country. <\/p>\n

<\/a>We all have to chip in<\/h3>\n

The last requirement is that \u201ccommunities are engaged\u201d in stopping the spread of the virus and making sure it doesn\u2019t bounce back. We\u2019re not going back to our carefree, 2019 ways. The WHO writes that communities must \u201cunderstand that the transition entails a major shift…that behavioral prevention measures must be maintained, and that all individuals have key roles in enabling and in some cases implementing new control measures.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n<\/hr>\n

Even with all these requirements met, restrictions should still be lifted one step at a time. We must have testing that\u2019s good enough and widespread enough to support the decisions that are being made. And all decisions should be based on scientists\u2019 and our leaders\u2019 best understanding of the evidence. <\/p>\n

This means that recommended measures may change along the way, as we learn more about the virus. We have to be patient with those changes, and we also must prepare to be patient with distancing in general. It\u2019s going to last a while. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the same way my tiny daughter looks forward to Christmas all year, all of us who are physically distancing look forward to \u201cthings reopening.\u201d Reopening is more a wish than a plan, since most likely we\u2019ll face months of adjusting restriction. We just want things to be back to normal, right? Well, the World…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14322"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14322"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15330,"href":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14322\/revisions\/15330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}