Can the quarantine be terminated?

Published in El Pais and Los Tiempos, 21 April 2020.

Even though the Coronavirus is active and is still responsible for many deaths every day, many countries have decided to reduce quarantine measures. For some, this decision is very irresponsible since it can increase contagion, just now that the numbers are improving. What to do?

First, the economy as a critical point. Stopping an economy is proving to have dire consequences and it is not yet known what other consequences it will bring in the longer run. Few governments want to burn their fingers on this. Furthermore, economic compensation costs have risen to astronomical figures and it will become unbearable. Second, it is exceedingly difficult to lock people up longer. For those who are in total quarantine and can only go to the supermarket, they know it is not easy. You can see that more people are looking for any excuse to “escape” from their home. The third reason, we have already scientific evidence that a super strict quarantine is not necessary to control the outbreak of the virus. There are already several examples of countries that have had less stringent measures and have still managed to control the virus.

The words “social distancing” are already obsolete and should be replaced by “intelligent and responsible distancing”. For example, before, when we had a cold or fever we went to work. Now we must stay at home so as not to infect anyone and work from home. Before we used to shake hands, a kiss, or a hug to say hello and now we will have to invent another way. Surely there are many more creative solutions to prevent the virus from spreading. Technology can help achieve this goal. In the Netherlands, the government is creating an application that records who you have been in contact with and when someone gets sick, you will receive an automatic message indicating that you are at risk and need to take extra care.

It is estimated that a person with COVID-19 will infect 2-3 people on average if there are no measures. The idea is to go below one so that the virus disappears. With all these smart actions, our inventiveness, and the ban on massive events for a longer time, the Coronavirus can be controlled without the need to be locked up.