other countries fight covid with car bans and snitch lines. should we?

this week, canada’s chief public health officer, dr. theresa tam, urged the general public to wear “non-medical” masks to prevent those with asymptomatic covid-19 from spreading the virus — an about-face from previous advice. other countries, meanwhile, have already made masks mandatory. should we be following suit? are there other tactics beyond social distancing and the shutdown of non-essential businesses and services we should be adopting?

here’s a look at international measures to beat coronavirus. (for a live map of global case counts, click here .)

while some countries continue to debate government use of contact tracing tools to monitor citizens with covid-10 (via gps, video surveillance and credit card records, for instance), others have gone a step further to share information on who has coronavirus with the public. india has developed an app called aarogya setu  to alert citizens when they are in proximity to someone with the illness.  russia  is also expected to launch a patient-tracking app.  pan-european privacy-preserving proximity tracing , a coalition of 130 researchers from eight european countries, is working on a tool that would include cross-border transmissions, specifically interactions between people less than two metres apart that last for more than 15 minutes — their mandate also includes adhering to  european privacy laws, including anonymization.

where else:  the united kingdom, singapore, south korea, israel.

why:  while there are major privacy concerns with these tracking devices, the hope is to better isolate those who might spread further infections.

drones are being used for mass sanitation in a number of countries. spraying chemicals in the air has its own risks, of course, and may or may not hit appropriate targets. there are also concerns that the model used by 75 per cent of the global market, china’s dgi agricultural drones, will collect sensitive data while pumping out disinfectants. in 2017, the drones were banned by the united states’ military.

where:  spain, chile, philippines, columbia and the united arab emirates.

why:  proponents of drones say operators are safer distributing chemicals this way than other methods of public disinfection.

there is  debate over whether or not reusable bags are a risk factor for contracting covid-19 (the centre for disease control and prevention simply recommends washing them with either bleach or solutions with 70 per cent alcohol). lest consumers disregard that advice, however, a number of places have reversed eco-friendly bans on plastic bags. san francisco has also banned customers from using any other reusable containers (plastic containers and mugs, for example) until may 3.

where else : new hampshire, maine, massachusetts, china, italy, kenya, south africa.

why:  given the lack of research on how long coronavirus remains active on different materials, this is a cautious gesture (especially since a march 17 study published in the new england journal of medicine suggested the virus is still viable on plastic after 72 hours).

during the lockdown in wuhan, private use of cars was banned. couriers delivered food and medical supplies to all citizens regardless of infection or not, as well as hospital workers.  albania  also instituted a private car and public transportation ban in march, albeit only for one weekend.

where else:  peru, uganda.

why:  further limiting movement of the population would theoretically limit the movement of the virus.

the focus may be on hand washing but shoes may also carry bacteria, so some countries are using sanitizing footbath mats (usually reserved for industrial or chemical workers) outside public and residential buildings or in  decontamination tents.

where:  china , philippines.

why:  here again, there is a lack of research on how long covid-19 stays active on different surfaces. still, there’s a reason your mother asked you to take off your shoes when you came into the house.

even top-notch surveillance technology has limitations, so a number of jurisdictions have set up “tip” lines. london, ont., cautioned citizens against using them for “snitching.” in  china , by contrast, citizens have been rewarded anywhere from $60 to $380 for reporting those breaking quarantine. one neighbourhood, jinan, offered 20 masks to anyone reporting an unregistered person from hubei.

where:  canada, china, spain, new zealand.

why:  epidemiologists use the measure r naught, or ro, to determine how many people one person with a virus can infect. while much is still unknown about covid-19, current  estimates  place the ro between 1.5 to 3.5. and that’s without considering the impact of asymptomatic cases.

while most air travel has ceased, many countries have instituted mandatory temperature checks for those who are still flying. in china, anyone purchasing cold medication must also report their temperature, address and identification number to their pharmacy. the chinese tech firm  kc wearable  has even developed an augmented reality helmet, used by shenzhen police, that can detect civilians’ temperatures. temperature checks are also being used in many places to screen employees at grocery stores, long-term care homes and hospitals. 

where:  china, south korea, japan, singapore, malyasia, india, nigeria and the united states.

why:  in  february , the who examined 55,000 cases of coronavirus in china; the most common symptom was fever — present in 87.9 per cent of cases.

when civic duty fails, policing comes into play. in many countries, including canada, individuals and businesses that don’t adhere to social distancing guidelines can be fined anywhere from $1,000 to $100,000. in singapore, disobeying state rules can result in up to six months of jail time. police checks are also in force in italy (where a signed form is required to move from town to town) and france (where checkpoints have been set up) to ensure that only people getting groceries, medical assistance or going to work are out on the streets.

where else:  england, wales, australia.

why:  social distancing is working to contain the spread of coronavirus, although there is uncertainty as to how much distance is enough: the six-feet rule is based on how far infectious droplets can travel to the ground, while one  mit professor has found that droplets from exhalations can travel up to 27 feet.

the world watched in a mixture of shock and incredulity (and in some cases, mockery) as china built  two new covid centres  with 2,600 beds in a matter of days. but carlo borghetti, the vice-premier of lombardy, the hardest-hit region in italy, told cbc news that  admitting patients with covid-19  into hospitals throughout the region was their “biggest mistake.”

where else:  many american states, france and the u.k. have instituted covid-only icus. others, like  australia , are preparing for it. in canada,  disused hotels may become hospitals  and covid recovery centres.

why:  patients with covid-19 need specialty beds and areas for effective isolation and treatment.

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other countries fight covid with car bans and snitch lines. should we?

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