These conditions should be met before ending coronavirus lockdown: WHO
What's the story
As India and other nations rush to combat the spread of COVID-19 and open up parts of their dwindling economy, the World Health Organization is offering guidance.
The UN health agency has laid down six primary conditions that, it says, should be met before a country decides to open up or lift the lockdown enforced on its people.
Here are those conditions.
Condition #1
Disease transmission must be in control
The first condition in the guidelines, released as part of a plan to deal with the pandemic, revolves around ensuring that the transmission of COVID-19 is under control.
Basically, the spread of the novel coronavirus must be limited to "a level of sporadic cases and clusters of cases, all from known contacts" and the discovery of new cases must be kept at manageable levels.
Condition #2
Healthcare systems should be able to detect, isolate all cases
Along with the control on cases, the country's healthcare system should also have the ability to detect, test, isolate, and treat every case (irrespective of severity and origin), and quarantine all their contacts.
If the nation is going after serious cases, instead of all, it is still not ready to lift the lockdown and allow the public to return to work, WHO asserted.
Condition #3
Outbreak risks are minimized in vulnerable zones
WHO also says that outbreak risks should be minimized in highly vulnerable zones, like hospitals, metros, nursing homes, before opening up the country.
This, the agency emphasized, "requires all major drivers and/or amplifiers of COVID‑19 transmission to have been identified, with appropriate measures in place to minimize the risk of new outbreaks and of nosocomial transmission."
Condition #4
Preventive measures must be taken for schools, workplaces
To protect people who will be returning to their routine activities, schools, workplaces and other essential places must have appropriate preventive measures in place.
Per WHO, this includes rules around physical distancing, hand washing, respiratory etiquette, temperature monitoring, and everything else needed to minimize the risk of contracting COVID-19 from an infected person in close proximity.
Condition #5
Risk of importing new cases should be managed
Even if you keep things under control on the inside, there is always a chance of importing new cases from foreign countries (which is how the problem began).
So, before removing lockdown restrictions, capacity should be developed to manage this risk "through an analysis of the likely origin and routes of importations, and measures...to rapidly detect and manage suspected cases among travelers."
Condition #6
Communities should be informed to live under a new normal
Finally, communities - from kids to adults to elders - should be fully informed, educated, and engaged to understand the situation of the world and the new normal.
They should understand that "behavioral prevention measures must be maintained" and "all individuals have key roles" to get things up and running while ensuring that no more infections occur.