Coronavirus in India: India must do community testing to utilise 14 days, based on zones

Here is a hypothetical scenario: we divide areas in to zones. We test people from zone A, which has 3 areas (a population of 100 people in total). We test 100 people, quarantine the susceptible, and isolate the infected. This way, zone A becomes the least vulnerable zone. So its people can move inside the zone more freely while no one outside of it can enter it. More people from the informal sector will be back to their daily occupation.

Then we move to the closest zone to zone A and do the same thing. And now we allow people from the two least vulnerable zones to move within the zones. This way, we will have several zones partially free of COVID-19 after two weeks. And their people will be able to return to their normal life to some extent.

Zones should be chosen based on already available data. Let us say we have seen that area A and B have witnessed high positive cases. So, when we combine them into a zone, we test it before a zone that has seen lesser number of positive cases. This way, we are able to able to turn the most vulnerable zones into the least vulnerable zones.

But the catch is this should be done parallel to the present testing method and we must triple the current testing rate. In the meanwhile, we should establish more hospitals, quarantine centers, and testing booths.

The present testing method isn’t an antidote to COVID-19. It is a precautionary measure. We need community testing and randomised testing to actually be in a position to change the complete lockdown into a partial lockdown.

This is the post of Ahmad Khan, taken from his Facebook wall.