COVID-19 Four Corners looks back – ignores urgent need for Quarantine accommodation

Those of us who do not face the awesome responsibility of firefighting the current situation and being accountable for life and death decisions, can best contribute by doing what they simply do not have time to do. Shut out the noise from both recriminations about the past and emergencies of the present and focus on the immediate future (as opposed to the present which is already passed, or the more distant future a few months away, for which there will be plenty of time to observe before orienting and there is no point in speculating).

While Four Corners twitters about "test, test, test", the need to enforce quarantine on all returning travellers and to rapidly expand intensive care and other hospital capacity, it is safe to assume the public health authorities are already acting on all those:

• The test kits, masks, alcoholic sanitzers etc that should have been stockpiled long before advance notice was available are now being ramped up as fast as they can.
• Strict enforcement of quarantine at the borders by actually escorting arrivals into secure accommodation that should have been started long ago is now being done.
• The public information campaigns on hygiene and "social distancing" which should have begun much earlier have now got to the point where they do have the full attention of nearly the entire population. The enforcement of prohibiting gatherings of more than two people is sufficient to ensure that.
• Follow ups for organizing delivery services to replace shopping, contact with individuals and households in distress and homeless people etc etc are being rolled out with whatever levels of bumbling are unavoidable. This will be done like grocery and pharmaceutical supply chain issues at achievable linear rates that will not significantly add to the level of the impending health catastrophe.
• But the danger of catastrophe remains because no matter how brilliantly the expansion of hospital facilities for severe cases, Intensive Care Units for the most severe and ventilators for the ICUs are ramped up, they will still be overwhelmed unless other interventions actually reduce the "R" multiple from infections to new infections below 1 very soon.

Enquires into what could have been done better in the past (and accountability) will be important for the long term in which we can expect to be dealing with successive waves each time restrictions are lifted until an effective vaccine is deployed – expected to take 12-18 months.

But right now, the focus must be entirely on the immediate future for the first peak, which is only weeks away. What additional measures that are NOT already being taken can still be taken to push the rate R below 1? Others can and should come up with other such lower priority measures. Here's my list.

What Must be Done Now

1. Announce that separate accommodation for everybody infected will be made available so that a lower proportion of the rest of their household remaining in enforced self-isolation will actually become infected and thus further reduce the overall transmission rate in addition to the higher priority measures already undertaken.
2. Announce that separate accommodation for everybody particularly vulnerable who is currently living with people less vulnerable will be made available to directly reduce the mortality rate among those vulnerable people.
3. Announce that these and related initiatives for homeless etc will take time to roll out and will initially be available only to those who need it most urgently as coordinated with the "package" for maintaining contact and mental health well-being etc.
4. Announce that preliminary estimates indicate subsantial numbers of premises previously used for other purposes and substantial numbers of people not currently working on other activities will be needed both to deploy and then to staff this emergency accommodation for the large case loads expected and registrations to participate in this new sector of the economy will be opened shortly.
5. Implement the long overdue announcements. But first announce them to pave the way for clamour rather than resentment.