Thought of the Day - May 14 - Prevent, Test, Trace, Isolate

Back to my topic of a week ago. BC has now announced its phased reopening plan, along with the process for non-essential businesses to restart. But I am still missing something. The reason we closed down, rather than simply a panicked response to ensure that our medical system was not overwhelmed, was to buy us time to put four things in place:

1. Prevent - to be able to continue to flatten the curve. This means: rethinking mass venues, implementing physical distancing, improved personal hygiene, use of masks where distancing is not ensured, new practices in high-risk institutions, increased sanitation, quarantine for travellers etc.

2. Test - to be able to uncover the virus. This means: rapid antigen testing for all with any symptoms and antibody testing on demand (along with the understanding of the accuracy (sensitivity and specificity)). Random sampling of the general public to get a handle on true infection rates, and mandatory repeat-testing of high-risk people and workplaces.

3. Trace - to be able track how and where the virus is spreading. This means: being more granular with the results of testing, using technology to track exposure, provide the public with personal exposure information, prioritized effort for high-risk groups, institutions and workplaces, and mobilizing contact tracing teams.

4. Isolate - to be able to isolate people or facilities as infections occur. This means: hosteling of workers & infected family members, enforced quarantine, greater public education on supporting isolated family member, and public disclosure of "hot-spots".

While we have come some way on several of these points, compared to most countries that are now successfully reopening (and in this I do not include the US) I have seen little progress in BC. Test, Trace & Isolate are the "jam in the sandwich" between epidemic and lock-down. However, they are not easy to do. But it is for this very reason they should be getting just as much attention as the reopening plans themselves, maybe even more.

Cheers

Cliff