Absolute Isolation Works Absolutely
As noted in my earlier blog, viruses are obligate parasites that need (MUST) a host cell to survive. They go through their phases of replication and eventually, after not getting proper host cells to infect, die a natural death.
I have had many folks across the geographies asking me a few questions?
- Why is the incidence of Coronovirus so high in the US?
- Are certain ethnicities (such as Indians) immune to the Coronavirus?
I will emphasize the control of Coronavirus based on the viruses’ obligate dependence on live cells for survival. We all know that if we practice Isolation absolutely, we should be assured of not having the disease.
Two situations preclude our ability for Isolation –
- Our needs for Essentials
- Fundamental Sense of Liberty
I owe you all a clear and concise write up on the best practices and pragmatic guidelines on “How to Manage Essentials” giving an end to end perspective, that provides the best way to avoid getting the virus inside your home. Give me until later this late evening to fulfill that commitment.
Let us talk about the “Sense of Liberty”. The US, the EU, and most developed nations have an enshrined fundamental Right of liberty to move. Isolation or ‘Shelter in Place’ equals to ‘House Arrest’ for them. The later nullifies isolation and thus provides a continuation of the propagation of the virus by allowing it to jump from people to people (aerosol, airborne, contact and fomites).
Special intervention in community level
So after the rise of an emerging disease, goverments have a special responsibility to balance between civil liberties and special measures for protecting susceptible populations. However, three components of “scientific“, “voluntary” and civil liberty should be considered as guiding principles for decision-making and operating each special protective measure at the community level (cited).
I see a dichotomy based on the above two practical limitations that are increasing the spread of Coronavirus in the US. Select countries like India and Japan are strongly considering the imposition of emergency. Whereas, many have implemented strict isolation even if the idea of isolation has emerged from behind the Iron Curtain of China.
The Bhilwara Model
The Bhilwara Model for containment of COVID-19 refers to imposing a curfew in the district including suspension of essential services, extensive screening, and house-to-house surveys to check for possible cases, and detailed contact tracing of each positive case so as to create a dossier on everybody they met ever since they got infected. A similar model was followed in Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. Singapore had gone a step ahead and deployed its intelligence sleuths to extract the contact tracing, whereas, the draconian Chinese Govt deployed Bluetooth tracing abandoning the privacy laws (they do not exist in China, except while the couple is conjugating, I believe!).
The success of the Bhilwara model is attributed to controlling an outbreak within the first four days of the initial incidence (remember the Rho factor.
Absolute isolation works absolutely. Yes, it does but can we forego our sense of liberty? Can we minimize our needs and limit our consumption? Please visit my next blog on “Managing the Essentials”.
Also read – Support your service folks (maids, handyman, lawnmowers etc.) https://mymilieu.org/2020/04/02/supporting-service-folks-during-crisis/
Why is Coronavirus highly infective? https://wp.me/p7XEWW-1go
Additional Reading:
How do I know if I have a Coronavirus infection? Before reading further, I strongly advise and recommend that this should not be construed as advice. Your best recourse is your doctor or health care professional.
Doctors in China used a triage system for fast screening. This was published in the Lancet. Below flowchart from the Lancet.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7117787/
mymilieu.org 