A safe approach to opening the economy will look different in different parts of the country.
Dr. Mary Makary, a surgeon and professor of health policy at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, recently outlined an approach to opening the U.S. economy that will protect people most at risk for contracting COVID-19.
A safe approach will look different in different parts of the country, writes Makary in The New York Times. Areas with continuing outbreaks or rising cases should postpone nonessential activity. Those with a declining case trend should engage in 5 basic practices:
- Universal masking.“Masks reduce aerosolized droplet transmission to others and to surfaces that others may touch,” he writes. “They protect your mouth and nose from the droplets of others, and they prevent you from touching your nose and mouth.”
- More time outside.Studies show that being outdoors with appropriate distancing carries a lower risk of getting the infection than being indoors. Makary calls for more outdoor living, including outdoor dining at restaurants and outdoor fitness activities.
- Business must adapt. Most grocery stores have been operating safely through the pandemic by limiting the number of shoppers, requiring masks, spacing out customer lines, installing plexiglass guards, cleaning incessantly, discontinuing self-serve options, and implementing strict policies that workers with symptoms stay home. These practices should be expanded to smaller businesses. If those practices aren’t feasible, the business should remain closed until it’s safe to reopen.
- Safeguard nursing homes. Nursing homes should not house COVID-19 patient unless they have isolation rooms, sufficient protective equipment, and the ability to conduct coronavirus tests for all employees and residents at least twice a week. Hospitals should be prohibited from transferring COVID-19 patients to nursing homes, he writes.
- Protect those at high risk. We should advise people with pre-existing medical conditions or a weakened immune system, particularly older adults, to avoid interactions with others until the risk of contagion is extremely low, writes Makary.
“Early on, we didn’t quite know what we were dealing with,” admits Makary “But now that we have better information, we should use a more surgical approach to fight the virus to minimize the damage.”