In the process of deconfinement

2020/04/19 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Medikuntza
• Osasuna

Coinciding with the end of the Easter holidays, changes will occur in the alarm situation. Tomorrow in Spain and last in Hego Euskal Herria, many workers will return to their factories and the confinement will remain demanding for the rest. Other measures have also been announced, including the recommendation to use masks in public transport and closed meeting spaces, following the recommendations of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). In France, they await the statements of President Emmanuel Macron in his speech tomorrow.

Some political and social actors have expressed their concerns and criticisms of the measures, and scientists have conducted studies and forecasts of all kinds. Includes the technical report of the Spanish Association of Preventive Medicine, Public Health and Hygiene (SEMPSPH). Published on April 10, it includes the proposals and aspects to take into account for the transition phase, that is, to leave the confinement.

According to the authors, the downward trend of the new cases allows progressively eliminating the containment measures of the pandemic. For this purpose, a specific calendar has not been established, but the responsibility to adapt the calendar to the situation has been made available to the administrations.

The measures affect three activities (surveillance, prevention and control) and three areas (health, social health and population) and, if necessary, the possibility of strengthening them to maintain the pandemic.

In fact, Tedros Adhanom, head of the World Health Organization, fears that if the measures are too fast, the plague will be strengthened and COVID-19 will further cause death.

The report, however, details the criteria and guidelines that should be followed to avoid it in each of the areas mentioned above and, among many other tools and resources, mentions two that can become common for citizens: masks and mobile applications.

Mobile control has been critical in China and especially in Singapore and South Korea, and they believe mobile phones can also be useful in some respects. For example, to mediate directly between the user and health services, or to know with whom a relationship has been maintained. Thus, if a case of infection is confirmed, it is possible to inform those who have had contact with it, so they can isolate themselves from others until they confirm that they are not infected. This immediately breaks the infectious chain.

The Spanish Secretariat for Digitization and Artificial Intelligence has already developed the criteria for the use of mobile applications and has proposed a color code based on the traffic light: red would imply a suspicion of infection, should be isolated and go directly to health services to perform an antigenic test, yellow would indicate a relationship not narrow and should be taken care of strictly if there were symptoms and, finally, a normal and suspicious lifestyle. Ethical and privacy aspects have also been analyzed.

To achieve this (if we arrive), we will have other studies, reports, proposals and measures. Based on evidence, consensus and for the benefit of the whole society.