The entire world is facing a new health threat, the novae coronavirus desease (COVID-19). Almost 1,930,000 cases were reported worldwide by 14 April, with total deaths of close to 120,000. Now more than half the planet's population is locked down at home.
Europe is currently the epicenter of the pandemic. Many European countries have closed their borders and implemented measures such as physical distancing, lockdowns, and restrictions on individual's movements in an attempt to control the spread of the virus. Such drastic restrictive measures were effective in China and will probably also be in Europe. Two of the most afflicted European nations, Italy and France, adopted these measures several weeks ago. They have recently reported drops in admissions to intensive care units and COVID-19–linked deaths.
The next challenge for those countries whose situations seem to be improving will be to organize the end of containment without generating a second wave of infections.
Health authorities should manage the end of the lockdown by implementing two population-wide measures. The first is large-scale free campaigns to detect the SARS CoV-2 virus genome to identify symptomatic and asymptomatic but contagious cases who will be quarantined. The second is a large-scale free survey to look for serum anti-SARS CoV-2 antibodies. Information technology should be used to track infectious contacts perhaps with suitable phone apps. Such measures have been applied in South Korea where they have helped bring the epidemic under control.1
Another challenge is to extend these campaigns to include the most disadvantaged people, such as homeless and migrants. Many humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are working to improve basic hygiene, provide food, health care, advice, information, language courses, and even temporary shelters for these fragile people who often do not speak or read French.
The NGOs will have to work in association with official state authorities to reassure these vulnerable people that the cessation of containment measures envisaged poses no risk to them. The NGO workers are in contact with these vulnerable people every day and so are fully aware of their problems. They form an invaluable credible, trustworthy, and non-judgmental bridge between the often illegal migrants and the State. The main concern will be to ensure that the authorities do not take advantage of the situation and use police prerogatives to expel undocumented migrants.
We must remember that the greatness of a state is reflected in the way it treats its most disadvantaged.
Conflict of interest
There is no conflict of interest.
References
- 1.Her M. How is COVID-19 affecting South Korea? What is our current strategy? Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2020:1–3. doi: 10.1017/dmp.2020.69. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]