COVID-19 lockdown easing and restricting color framework for local government

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently released the following six conditions for removing lockdown regarding the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic:

1. Disease transmission is under control;
2. Health systems are able to "detect, test, isolate and treat every case and trace every contact";
3. Hot spot risks are minimized in vulnerable places, such as nursing homes;
4. Schools, workplaces and other essential places have established preventive measures;
5. The risk of importing new cases "can be managed";
6. Communities are fully educated, engaged and empowered to live under a new normal.

According to the authors, none of these are beyond reach for developed and well-resourced countries, except perhaps number two, which is virtually impossible given the lack of testing kits and shear number of unknown asymptomatic cases. For most of the world’s population, these are difficult to achieve, which means that the WHO criteria for lifting the lockdown may never be met. The authors suggest that nations should take control of their own lockdown lifting decisions and strategies by developing internal capacity and resources to make sensible decisions. The paper explains that Guidance from the Disaster Resilience Scorecard section on Public Health (developed by UNDRR) is perhaps more appropriate because investment in any of these areas will have a direct impact on the duration of lockdown.