This news clip is a glimpse of what reopening looks like for a small university in a country and city that has met the requirements for reopening, according to the Centers for Disease Control guidelines and US public health officials:
- The number of new COVID-19 cases is small to none.
- Rapid testing is easily available for those with symptoms.
- Vigorous contact tracing exists. In this case, personal phone apps track location and certify local public health status: green means ok to enter public space, yellow means you have been exposed and isolation is required, red means infected.
- Mandatory isolation in a supervised facility for all those exposed. To date this essential requirement is not part of US recommendations to contain the outbreak. Our emphasis is on voluntary self-isolation which has yet to be proven effective elsewhere.
- Temperature reading required to enter all public spaces, including shops, restaurants, malls, and public transportation.
Once the country and a city meet these requirements, a generally safe environment allows individual organizations to begin the slow and careful process of reopening. It’s a “try it and see” approach. If infection rates rise again, they are prepared to quickly implement harsher measures to reduce infections once again.