Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected 20 million people worldwide with over 732,000 deaths and trillions of dollars of lost economic productivity. It has put many countries into lockdown to contain the virus and save lives. As COVID-19 cases in some countries start to plateau and societies work hard to ‘flatten the curve’, leaders are being asked to formulate plans for safe and staged ‘exit strategies’ to reopen society. Each country will decide on their own exit strategy but many plans are considering similar vital healthcare principles including the maintenance of social distancing to prevent ongoing community transmission, testing capacity, protection of the healthcare systems and the health of their care workers. This review aims to provide an overview of essential factors that plans for exit strategy should consider and their effect on the societies' social and healthcare life.

Highlights

  • The novel Coronavirus SARS-2 (COVID-19) was first announced in China on the December 31, 2019, with the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring a public health emergency on January 30, 2020 [1]

  • A shift to phase II is allowed when 4 criteria have been met including, (1) the number of new cases has declined for at least 14 days, (2) rapid diagnostic testing is sufficient to test all people with COVID-19 symptoms, (3) healthcare systems are able to safely care for all patients, and (4) public health capacity allows for effective contact tracing [5]

  • One of the most important considerations during the creation of an exit strategy is devising a plan for COVID-19 testing

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Summary

Introduction

The novel Coronavirus SARS-2 (COVID-19) was first announced in China on the December 31, 2019, with the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring a public health emergency on January 30, 2020 [1]. On the 11th March it was classed as a pandemic, with the virus in over 60 countries with profound effects on societies’ social and economic life [2]. Many countries are considering several overlapping health principles including, social distancing rules, testing capacity and protection of health care systems [3]. With limited evidence guiding governments on the optimal way to contain the virus, many countries have taken the approach to slow the spread by aiming to ‘flatten the curve’. This literature review aims to provide an over­ view of current COVID-19 exits strategies implemented to reopen society safely including timing, testing capacity and social distancing. A discussion on the key health care principles that should be considered for re-opening is provided. A brief overview on the current status of vaccine development for overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic is provided

Considering the timing of the exit strategy
Testing capacity during the exit strategy
Maintenance of social distancing during the exit strategy
Surveillance of COVID-19 in society during the exit strategy
Ongoing clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccine
Restoration of healthcare services during the exit strategy
Findings
Conclusion
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