The COVID-19 Pandemic

Strict Comprehensive Measures Urgently Recommended to Contain the Disease and Protect the Population

The World Health Organization (WHO) has advised strict comprehensive measures to contain the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) and to protect the population, including quarantine, testing, contact tracing, social distancing, and direct population/community mobilization. On February 20, the WHO published a report which noted:

"Much of the global community is not yet ready, in mindset and materially, to implement the measures that have been employed to contain COVID-19 in China. These are the only measures that are currently proven to interrupt or minimize transmission chains in humans. Fundamental to these measures is extremely proactive surveillance to immediately detect cases, very rapid diagnosis and immediate case isolation, rigorous tracking and quarantine of close contacts, and an exceptionally high degree of population understanding and acceptance of these measures.

"COVID-19 is spreading with astonishing speed; COVID-19 outbreaks in any setting have very serious consequences; and there is now strong evidence that non-pharmaceutical interventions can reduce and even interrupt transmission. Concerningly, global and national preparedness planning is often ambivalent about such interventions. However, to reduce COVID-19 illness and death, near-term readiness planning must embrace the large-scale implementation of high-quality, non-pharmaceutical public health measures. These measures must fully incorporate immediate case detection and isolation, rigorous close contact tracing and monitoring/quarantine, and direct population/community engagement."[1]

In his  opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 on March 13, the WHO Director-General said: "Our message to countries continues to be: you must take a comprehensive approach. Not testing alone. Not contact tracing alone. Not quarantine alone. Not social distancing alone. Do it all.

"Any country that looks at the experience of other countries with large epidemics and thinks 'that won't happen to us' is making a deadly mistake. It can happen to any country.

"The experience of China, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and others clearly demonstrates that aggressive testing and contact tracing, combined with social distancing measures and community mobilization, can prevent infections and save lives."

The WHO report also pointed out that: "Achieving China's exceptional coverage with and adherence to these containment measures has only been possible due to the deep commitment of the Chinese people to collective action in the face of this common threat. At a community level this is reflected in the remarkable solidarity of provinces and cities in support of the most vulnerable populations and communities. Despite ongoing outbreaks in their own areas, Governors and Mayors have continued to send thousands of health care workers and tons of vital [Personal Protective Equipment] supplies into Hubei province and Wuhan city."

Another interesting piece of information in the report says: "The implementation of these containment measures has been supported and enabled by the innovative and aggressive use of cutting edge technologies, from shifting to online medical platforms for routine care and schooling, to the use of 5G platforms to support rural response operations."

Based on the measures it has taken, China became the first country to successfully contain COVID-19, the WHO reports. On March 12 only 24 new cases were reported, of which ten were travellers returning to China, infected abroad. Elsewhere in the region, reports indicate that currently containment has also been successful in Singapore and Hong Kong, which both applied strict quarantine measures.

On March 11, the WHO assessed that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic. A pandemic is when a new disease for which people do not have immunity spreads around the world beyond expectations. One distinction is that the spread of the disease in various regions is no longer attributed to travellers only. It is the first time that a pandemic is caused by a coronavirus. The WHO also says that it is the first pandemic "that can be controlled."

The WHO estimates the current mortality rate to be about 3.4 per cent. In the U.S. it is estimated to be about five per cent. Even if the mortality rate were one per cent, it would still be ten times higher than that of the normal seasonal influenza.[2] Reports also indicate a marked discrepancy between officially diagnosed cases and actual cases. The time it takes for patients to get tested and other factors, including the extremely low rate of testing in the U.S., result in a gap between the reported number of cases and the real number. One can expect 10 to 100 times the reported number. This means there are already tens of thousands of cases in North America, if not more.[3]

Strict, Socially Responsible Measures Needed

Reports indicate that several EU countries have brought themselves to implement quarantine measures, including Italy, Greece, Romania, Austria, Denmark and just lately after initially resisting, Germany, as well as at least 19 other countries around the world, including Canada.[4] For their part and to their shame, the U.S. and Britain are among those countries which lag far behind in following the WHO recommendations.[5]

Globalization, including just-in-time delivery of goods, services and even human beings, has brought the world together in an unprecedented socialized way. Even though some countries have yet to see any cases of the disease, we are all in this together as one humanity with a common interest to contain the coronavirus and protect the population. The governments at every level must take full responsibility for implementing the WHO's recommendations responsibly. All those who are working at home must continue to be paid in a normal manner. All those laid off as a result of the shutdown of workplaces must be compensated. Governments have been encouraging privatization, and contracting out and casualization of most work, especially in the service sector, and now they must guarantee that all contract workers and the self-employed receive remuneration during this special period. The workers who work in the so-called gig economy, including where private interests use software apps to favour their narrow interests and workers are expected to be available on demand to do one gig at a time, must also receive compensation during this special period if they too must stay in quarantine or be subjected to more restrictive conditions of isolation.

The modern reality and condition of a socialized economy and life demand that national governments must fulfill their social responsibility to contain this virus using the public health measures recommended by the WHO, given the lack of medical countermeasures at this time. They must put the full weight of the economy and all public and private institutions behind the successful implementation and protection of the population, making sure all those who need help receive it.

Where There Is a Will There's a Way!

The adage "Where there is a will there's a way" applies under the circumstances. Despite the decrepit state of many health care facilities and dearth of beds and nursing and other personnel due to the vicious anti-social offensive governments have been imposing on our society to favour the rich, as in any crisis, facilities can be commandeered and equipped and qualified personnel can be hired and trained to deal with the matter at hand, taking every precaution required to protect everyone involved. It can be done and must be done!

Working people must unite in action at every level and determine how they can contribute to making quarantine, isolation and the other strict measures required effective and to asserting the claims they are entitled to make on governments at every level. Quarantining is a very important first measure and people can inform themselves of the guidelines they must follow. If they require assistance, they must call the public health care numbers they are provided with and describe their symptoms and follow the instructions. Full testing and treatment must be provided to everyone who needs it. By closing everything down for the two-week incubation period and then assessing whether the virus has been contained on the basis of verifiable results, and pursuing the instructions of the WHO meticulously, Canada can do its part to contain and mitigate this global pandemic.

As for the working people, they can play their role by speaking out to lay the claims on society and the governments in charge that everyone is entitled to make. This includes compensation for the period they are off work because of closures and measures to protect those public service workers who do essential work in the health care and education sectors and in all aspects of social services, including home care, long-term care and care for the youth, elderly and others in distress. For those engaged in retail work related to the sale of essential items such as food, medicines and necessary hygiene products, in transportation or any other essential service, arrangements must be made to replace those workers who must quarantine themselves for whatever reason, undergo isolation at home or be hospitalized, and to protect those still on the job.

Nobody should be put in a situation of fending for themselves to find a direction and the means to cope as families and individuals during this pandemic. All social organizations -- especially unions, social clubs and associations of all kinds -- should go into action to make sure their members are informed and looked after.

The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) has called on its organizations across the country to inform themselves of the situation of their members and supporters to make sure everyone is taken care of and is informed, and to organize for the implementation of prescribed protective measures where needed not only in the homes and neighbourhoods but also workplaces and educational institutions.

All individuals and collectives are called upon to unite in action to play their part and act responsibly under all conditions and circumstances to humanize the social and natural environment, and to give meaning and substance to the necessity of activating the human factor/social consciousness and putting human beings in command of their condition. By taking conscious measures to make sure nobody is put in a situation of having to fend for themselves, working Canadians will proudly proclaim that this humanity is able to bring the problems facing humankind under control and that they have played their part.

All Out to Adopt the Measures Necessary to Contain COVID-19
and Protect the Population!
Hold Governments at Every Level Responsible to Implement the
Recommended Public Health Measures Fully and Responsibly!
One Humanity, One Struggle!
All Out to Defend the Rights of All!

Notes

1. Report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). 16-24 February 2020.

2. "COVID-19 Educational Disruption and Response," UNESCO, March 11, 2020

3. "Coronavirus: Why You Must Act Now," Tomas Pueyo, Medium, March 10, 2020.

4. "Die Entdeckung der Langsamkeit," Heike Schmoll, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, March 10, 2020.

5. According to the WHO quarantine refers to "the restriction of activities or separation of persons who are not ill, but who may have been exposed to an infectious agent or disease, with the objective of monitoring symptoms and early detection of cases." It can be voluntary, which some refer to as self-quarantine, or mandatory, depending on the circumstances. Quarantine is different from isolation, which is "the separation of ill or infected persons from others, so as to prevent the spread of infection or contamination." Isolation means staying indoors and completely avoiding contact with other people to the greatest extent possible for those who have tested positive for COVID-19, are waiting to be tested or awaiting the results of their test. It is sometimes referred to as self-isolation when individuals act to implement the necessary measures on their own in their home or another place such as a hotel room when traveling.

The National Health Authority of Canada indicates that when quarantine and isolation/self-isolation are undertaken at an individual level, they are considered social distancing approaches, along with such measures as avoiding crowding, school and workplace measures and closures, public/mass gathering cancellations, etc. For further details, click here.

For interim WHO guidelines for quarantining in the context of the containment of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), click here.

This article was published in

Volume 50 Number 8 - March 14, 2020

Article Link:
The COVID-19 Pandemic: Strict Comprehensive Measures Urgently Recommended to Contain the Disease and Protect the Population

    

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