Coronavirus – When is it the right time to ease the restrictions?
The coronavirus-epidemic started in December in China, and by the beginning of March, the whole world reported the disease, which made it the first worldwide epidemic since the Spanish flu. Every country introduced restrictions and measurements to protect citizens and to stop the virus as soon as possible. Many now are talking about easing these restrictions, and soon the time will come when the cure for the virus is not ready yet, but people will be allowed to leave their homes.
Although not many countries reported that the spreading of the virus slowed down, some of them already started to plan how to ease governmental measurements and restrictions – reports Index. This step is incredibly risky and needs full attention and focus from the leaders of the states. What makes planning difficult is that every country is in a different situation regarding the number of infected people, the speed of the virus’s spreading and the measurements introduced.
We might not feel this, but social distancing is only a short-term solution for slowing down the disease. On the long term, the restrictions must be eased. The questions are: how and when?
If it happens too soon, the virus technically was not stopped, and all the efforts of world leaders and people would waste away. The second wave of the coronavirus is inevitable, but it is different if humanity waits for it prepared rather than unprepared. On the other hand, if the states delay the ease of the measurements, it would damage the economy and the mental health of people. Currently, thousands are suffering from the lack of personal contacts, depression, anxiety and fear because of the virus and easing the restrictions carefully might help a lot of people to regain their strength.
It would be an obvious step to stick to the restrictions until the vaccine and the cure is ready, but there are many uncertainties regarding them; it would be useless to build strategic steps on the medicine’s arrival.
Currently, there are three possible methods to ease the restrictions. The first one simply plays on waiting until the number of infected people daily decreases and then letting everybody else leaving the quarantine. From this moment, the state would have to use the strictest rules to determine the new infections with more tests immediately and to, possibly, take these people into quarantine again, if anything goes wrong, protecting those who are healthy.
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According to the second one, states should keep the restrictions or even make them stricter and prepare healthcare institutions for the second wave providing them with even more doctors, equipment, masks, beds, medicines, and everything they need. Still, increasing the capacity of hospitals is not cheap, and this takes a lot of energy and money some states might not afford.
The third one would be to release the restrictions and to protect the elderly and chronic diseased people more effectively.
Which one and when will it happen? Nobody knows…
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Source: www.index.hu