Part 52-COVID-19: Personal Responsi-bilities: Meditations and Steps to be Taken for Disease Prevention [Part 6]

COVID-19 is a respiratory virus that spreads through the air (via droplets and aerosol forms), fingers/touch (transfer through any mucous membrane), and personal contact.  Rather than repeating same mistakes, we must learn from lessons of the last three months; must avoid collective quarantining, that happened on cruise ships led to dozens of otherwise healthy, non-infected people acquiring the disease. 

The vast majority of quarantined people under observation do not carry the COVID-19. Therefore, mixing them with people having the virus can infect otherwise healthy people unnecessarily.  Considering this, it is unethical and unjustifiable to mixing these two groups of people under any circumstances. At the same time, taking affirmative actions. to protect uninfected people from becoming infected in quarantine facilities.  

Personal responsibilities as citizens?measures that could reduce the risks of COVID-19:

Those who are not feeling well should stay home and should not intermingle with others. The best option for anyone who is sick with respiratory tract and/or gastrointestinal signs and symptoms is to either self-quarantine at home or be provided the option for recovery/observation at a secure facility away from persons infected with COVID-9. Departments of health must provide all of them with effective face masks, such as N95-type, to minimize the spread of COVID-19. Prevention of virus spread is the goal and is far cheaper and effective than any treatment that can be offered.

The importance of calm mind and meditation to overcome the distress:

In ongoing stressful situations, as during the current COVID-19 pandemic, most of the affected families, those live-in high-risk areas, and frontline workers are constantly at a higher degree of stress. As in the case with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) situations, the sustain stresses can leads to hormone-mediated longer-term, deleterious medical and psychological consequences, not only on the mind and the body but also a long-lasting negative changes (restructure) in the brain.

The current pandemic affects everyone, one way or another. The mentality and the ability to adapt and cope to the changing situations?the resilience?of the individual determine the longer-term outcome. One effective way is to boost the resilience is to engage in daily meditation. In addition to understand and accepting the reality, it improves the ability of a practitioner to better managing the stress, to relax, and reduce stress and tension that will enhance the immune system.

Summary of important steps individuals should take to prevent infection:

Following the basic infectious disease prevention principles for air-borne diseases is essential.  Such principles include avoiding crowded places, employing regular hand washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or using medical grade hand sanitizers (an alcohol-based disinfectant that contains at least 60% alcohol), and covering the nose and mouth with disposable tissues or the inner elbow when coughing or sneezing. Because the COVID-19 virus has a fatty layer around it, the use of any soap/detergent with some gentle rubbing of the hands will easily dislodge the attached virus with running water.  However, these alone are insufficient for curtailing local spread of COVID-19.

The Center for Disease Control website (CDC.gov) provides additional guidance on infection prevention. Because coronaviruses can enter the body via any mucosal surfaces, one should not touch eyes, nose, mouth, or the genital region without first washing hands thoroughly, as described. It is advisable to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water when arriving at one’s workplace, returning home, and before and after using the toilet. Measures such as staying at home.  Seek telephonic consultation when one has flu-like symptoms, cough, or an unexplained high fever, and keeping distance from people who have signs of a respiratory tract infection, should be followed.

Key steps should be taken to reduce disease spread:

To minimized the risks of spreading COVID-19 it is essential to have all of the followings:

(A) A rapid, on-site diagnostic method, results can be obtain under one-hour, that has the sensitivity and specificity to be used as a diagnostic tool at the earliest possible time point;

(B) Testing larger numbers of exposed and quarantined people, with humane isolation;

(C) Community-based tracing contacts, testing, and effective reporting system;

(D) Effective real-time surveillance of the exposed and new patients;

(E) Boost the immunity of the entire population;

(F)  The provision of a supportive environment and effective therapies;

(G) Regularly inform the public of real situation and proactively explain reason for action;

(H) The use of an effective vaccine and antiviral agents (when available); and

(I)   Dynamic effective disease prevention guidance to prevent the public panic;

(J)  Encouraged people to engage in good personal hygiene: handwashing and the use a face mask when appropriate, avoiding crowded places, etc. to reduce exposure to the virus.

Longer-term impact:

The socioeconomic and medical consequences and the major disruption in global supply chains and financial markets will continue for some time. Therefore, governments must take well-thought through, proactive measure to mitigate not only the current issues but also future effects. The current global recession will recover with time and the world will service. 

__________________________________________________________________________

Professor Sunil J. Wimalawansa, MD, Ph.D., MBA, DSc, is a physician-scientist, educator, social entrepreneur, and process consultant. He is a philanthropist with experience in long-term strategic planning and cost-effective investment and interventions globally for preventing non-communicable diseases [recent charitable work]. The author has no conflicts of interest and received no funding for this work.