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A #bcpoli 
on #COVIDzero
My thoughts on an approach to COVID in BC. My answer to reducing cases, deaths, and dealing with variants of concern ("VoC") is ISOLATE, ELIMINATE, INSULATE. 1/
on #COVIDzero My thoughts on an approach to COVID in BC. My answer to reducing cases, deaths, and dealing with variants of concern ("VoC") is ISOLATE, ELIMINATE, INSULATE. 1/
1) Prevent virus entry - lock down travel into the province and between health regions through enforced quarantines.
Anyone arriving MUST quarantine, with enforcement via hotels or daily check-in with technology assists (mobile apps and/or tracking devices). 2/
Anyone arriving MUST quarantine, with enforcement via hotels or daily check-in with technology assists (mobile apps and/or tracking devices). 2/
2) Eliminate community spread. This one sucks but is necessary - lockdown. Close non-essential biz, work-from-home, most children to online learning, take-out only, you know the drill. But with a fixed time - 6 weeks. And financial SUPPORT for those out of work. 3/
2b) This also means improvement to existing measures - ventilation, universal masking, recommendation for better masks, education, etc. Pre-schoolers can wear masks in other countries, #bced students can (and need to) mask up, as do all teachers and staff. 4/
3) Proper Trace/Test/Isolate/Support is crucial.
a) Tracing should be assisted by tech and by the patient. Let's do this together.
b) Test means test close contacts, even without symptoms.
c) Ensure positives isolate, and SUPPORT them as needed with food or $. 5/
a) Tracing should be assisted by tech and by the patient. Let's do this together.
b) Test means test close contacts, even without symptoms.
c) Ensure positives isolate, and SUPPORT them as needed with food or $. 5/
4) Enforce all measures. These are "public health measures," the name alone should tell us they're important to the public. Zero tolerance for the ignorant few who ruin it for everyone.
This includes audits of workplaces, LTCF's, schools. Fail to quarantine = jail! 6/
This includes audits of workplaces, LTCF's, schools. Fail to quarantine = jail! 6/
5) Commit to proactive testing where distancing is not possible, especially LTCF's, and ESPECIALLY when there is contact with a known case or an actual case. Take advantage of antigen tests, they're cheaper, faster, and the impact on Rt overrides any downsides. 7/
6) Rest period. After the 6 weeks, we reflect and see where we're at, loosen restrictions slightly, but keep Rt < 1.0 so what cases remain diminish. By this point we should have eliminated to known clusters, minor community spread. 8/
7) As we eliminate COVID in some regions, we look to insulate. "Safe" regions are now "protected" - anyone entering from a region with cases must quarantine on entry. If IH is COVID free but FH is not, you must quarantine if you go from FH to IH, 9/
But, you say, BC is not an island like Taiwan or NZ. True. But we have finite, controllable access points into the province, and even between regions. We can MAKE BC into an island. We can be *just like* Taiwan or NZ through minor changes and choices. 10/
Several components of our response desperately need improvement - data collection, contact tracing, technology, public comm'n & transparency, acknowledgement of emerging science. But these are *solvable*. And we can elicit help from those who have done well already 11/
The #CanadianShield folks have a more comprehensive plan and assessment, with financial details, etc., that is a way more complete plan than mine. But mine fits into a bunch of tweets so there you go 
12/ https://covidstrategicchoices.ca/
12/ https://covidstrategicchoices.ca/
