#0650 – 16 Simple Steps To Deal With Future Respiratory Virus Pandemics

Back to Normal?

Below are 16 simple steps to deal with future respiratory virus pandemics, crucially without a need for massive government intervention in the form of lockdowns, vaccines, immigration controls, or contact tracing.

In fact, there is no particular reason why people and institutions in a libertarian society would not be able to implement the common sense measures below in a bottom-up way.

Image via Untapped New York

Tens of millions of people have already lost their jobs or seen their hours cut, businesses will go under, retirement accounts lose value etc. The economic, financial, political and social consequences of this are devastating and scary to think about.

In addition, the sudden restrictions on civil liberties are unprecedented: People are no longer allowed to take to the streets to protest; many are not even allowed to visit friends or family or go to their job unless government deems that job “essential”.

* * *

Here are 16 simple steps to deal with any major future respiratory virus pandemics that again — could be implemented in a localized, bottom-up way:

  1. Cancel events with large crowds, especially indoor events (but keep beaches, parks, cities, playgrounds etc open).
  2. Avoid closed or poorly ventilated spaces where multiple people spend a prolonged period of time, especially when they are laughing, singing, shouting or talking.
  3. When it’s not possible to do #2 and #3, wear masks in those situations.
  4. Everybody should wear face masks in public transport & crowds. Everywhere else is up to people’s own discretion.
  5. Isolate infected patients from others: Create special, isolated facilities either within or outside of hospitals and nursing homes.
  6. Don’t send infected patients (back) to nursing homes.
  7. Quarantine carers with (non-infected) nursing home residents & pay >500% overtime.
  8. Quarantine & protect the vulnerable (the elderly, people with serious other illnesses), and provide them with all the services they need.
  9. Keep everything else open: Let the young and healthy live their lives.
  10. Promote spending time outdoors.
  11. When possible, move activities outdoors.
  12. Open windows.
  13. Install or fix ventilation systems.
  14. Create virus clinics and telemedicine so that suspected virus patients don’t have to go to doctors where they may infect others.
  15. Everybody who tests positive or is a suspected patient receives a pulse oximeter and a thermometer to continually monitor their oxygen levels and temperature.
  16. Order ample PPE supplies before the pandemic starts.

That’s it.

For many more suggestions (as well as references to academic research) for reopening the economy while limiting the damage Covid-19 is doing, see here.

But if we implement the 16 measures mentioned above, most of these 58 measures are probably unnecessary.

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