This is a discussion paper launched in the Outbreak Science project. It’s a draft, any input and discussion is appreciated.
Author: Johannes Musseleck
With many countries and communities in shut-down, and measures beginning to show success, the pressure on leaders is rising to gradually move out of the shut-downs, i.e. to “re-open”. The most promising path towards this is by means of “smart disctancing”: It targets disproportionally protecting (and isolating) critical parts of the population (those having to expect the most severe consequences in case of being infected, e.g. older citizens or those with a relevant pre-condition) while bringing the rest of the population back into the direction of a “normal” mode.
While the shut-downs often took place in a rather general fashion, re-opening is a delicate task for political leaders, as there is not a lot of evidence, scientific data and experience to base the “game plan” of re-opening on. Therefore, here are some recommendations on a possible approach of structuring the process: