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.