Methodologies implemented by various countries :
Several governmental and institutional websites have Guidelines
for Opening Up for both individual citizens and employers with
criteria,preparations and instructions for resuming activities.One hand
we have countries like Brazil with a halfhearted lockdown slowly
reaching the peak,developing countries like India and Pakistan have
extended their strict lockdown,expecting a peak in the next few
weeks.Few countries on the other hand,have reached their post peak phase
and taking measures to ease the lockdown.In Italy,a gradual reopening of
many commercial activities but not schools was announced earlier in May
but countries like Germany,Switzerland and Spain have announced to
reopen schools even in light of an increasing number of reports
indicating children to be as susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection as
adults but less likely to present with symptoms.Then there are countries
like South Korea,Japan,Singapore and even the epicenter of the
pandemic-China that seem to have controlled the spread of COVID-19.It is
essential to highlight here that one of the major guidelines these
countries followed to contain the spread of the disease was: Mandatory
use of protective masks/covers in public.In Beijing,a study of community
transmission found that ”consistently wearing a mask in public was
associated with a 70% reduction in the risk of catching SARS”.Singapore
has installed face mask vending machines with an aim to distribute over
5 million masks to its residents for free.Hong Kong,learning through
experience,has announced plans to distribute at least 8 million masks
with two each to kindergarten and primary pupils under the Hong Kong’s
free mask scheme:CuMask+ .The name stands for the chemical
symbol for copper,Cu (key filtering component) and also for “see
you”.These masks are environmentally sustainable and can be washed 60
times. A systematic analysis in the
Cochrane
Review found strong evidence during the 2003 SARS epidemic in support
of wearing masks.[5] In countries like the United Kingdom,public has
been advised to wear face coverings under the government’s lockdown
easing plan.The United States official guidelines on Opening
America “s trongly considers” using face coverings while in public and
particularly when using mass transit. Similarly,In Italy,places like
Lombardy have made face masks compulsory while venturing out. Other
regions,including Tuscany and Umbria are distributing free surgical
masks to the public.In Germany,wearing a mask has been mandatory in
shops and when using public transportation.In other countries such as
Spain,the use of masks is compulsory on public transport with no
obligation for children to wear them.In France however,kindergarteners
are not expected to wear masks unless symptomatic.In India,wearing
simple face-covering in public is mandatory and a geosocial applicationAarogya Setu helps in contact tracing.