Authors: Ranjeet Dhonkal (contact: Ranjeet.Dhonkal@haw-hamburg.de), John Middleton (United Kingdom), Ralf Reintjes (Germany), Laurent Chambaud (France), Alberto Fernandez (Spain), Jose M Martin-Moreno (Spain), Natia Skhvitaridze (Georgia)
Ongoing & further work
More work is being/will be done by ASPHER members over the coming days on:
Ensuring that personal hygiene habits for public interactions are properly introduced and disseminated
- New norms of frequent hand washing, coughing etiquette, and physical distancing
- Use of appropriate masks in all relevant public spaces – particularly when indoors where the safety distance cannot be maintained
- Glove use is advisable only for certain occasions or jobs where they are recommended according to protocol. In other cases, they cannot substitute for hand washing and the gloves themselves can become a vector of contagion.
Protecting people at standard workplaces
- Workplace risk assessment (teamwork with appropriate worker representation)
- Structural preventive measures
- Non workplace options where possible
- Access to work - public versus private transport
- Presenteeism not tolerated - ‘new norm of not being ill at work’
- Age group selection for workers
Taking care with particular attention to vulnerable groups
- Black and minority ethnic issues
- Mental health needs of people in lockdown
- Domestic violence
- Elderly (particularly at nursing/care homes)
Ensuring the right conditions to reopening activities
- Children’s activities – schools, daycares
- Sport/individual activities
- Cultural activities
Dealing with issues related to education and training in an appropriate and exemplary manner
- Including those of specific relevance to schools of public health
- Also in the area of professional regulation and standards
Rigorously addressing Disease Surveillance
- Contact tracing
- Surveillance apps
- Serological testing
- Immunity certifications “passports” and use of tracking applications
- Regional differences in prevalence
Promoting economic recovery with a vision of equity and public health
- Characterization of inequalities and identification of needs
- ...
Key references
ASPHER Statement on the streategic use of masks:
https://www.aspher.org/aspher-statement-masks.html
ASPHER Statment on the COVID-19 testing:
https://www.aspher.org/aspher-statement-covid-19-testing.html