Experts believe that it is too late for the continent

"Zero Covid" strategy in Europe between truth and illusion

New Zealand is among the countries that may reach the "zero Covid" rank, thanks to the strict measures they apply.

Reuters

The day before yesterday, two million New Zealand residents of Auckland began a home quarantine for three days after monitoring three cases of the "Covid-19" epidemic, in accordance with a strategy followed in Asia and Oceania, which provides for a swift and aggressive move to quickly return to a normal life, but is the "zero Covid" strategy »Are these applicable in Europe?

This approach aims to completely eliminate the spread of the Coronavirus in a region or country, thanks to strict measures that are taken as soon as infections appear, and are coupled with tight control over the epicenter of the epidemic through detection checks, contact tracing and isolation.

In parallel, life continues normally in areas where the virus is not spreading.

And an increasing number of specialists are calling for this strategy to be implemented in Europe.

Infectious disease expert Antoine Flahau stresses that "there are three gains for the countries that adopted them," which are New Zealand, Australia, China, Taiwan and Vietnam.

“On the health front, they are the undisputed champions of the world in terms of the low number of deaths relative to the population, and at the social level, life has returned to normal with the opening of bars and restaurants,” Flaho, director of the Institute for Global Health at the University of Geneva, told AFP. And cultural and sports activities, schools and universities in a normal way, in the almost complete absence of restrictions ».

Finally, on the economic front, Taiwan and China recorded positive growth in their GDP in 2020. "

"Live" with the virus

He believes that the option of "zero Covid" is clearly better than the "containment strategy" followed by most Western countries, which "regulate coexistence with (the virus) between two waves of infections."

Professor Martin Mackey, Professor of Public Health at the London Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, agreed, explaining, “What does it mean (coexistence with the virus)?

The current situation is unacceptable, and it generates a lot of ambiguity in the long run. ”

He told «AFP»: «We are trying in vain to control the epidemic, there are new waves without stopping and thus more stone, and no one can plan anything, go on vacation, get married, or invest in establishing a restaurant.

He also stressed that “the more the virus spreads, the greater the risk of mutated copies emerging.

It is not possible to continue with the third, fourth, and fifteenth wave, ”expressing his conviction that the“ zero Covid ”approach is the“ only option ”.

But is this strategy reproducible at the other end of the world?

The Australian specialist in infectious diseases at Curtin University in Perth, Professor Archie Clements, believes that its implementation "will be more difficult in Europe."

"There are several reasons: the movement of people is much greater, the greater population density in cities, the dependence of the European economy on border crossing traffic, and Europe being a main destination for travel," he told «AFP».

The vision of "imperialism"

He continued, "We have in Australia and New Zealand natural features that are not found elsewhere, especially our isolation and the absence of land borders."

However, this kind of argument does not convince the supporters of the "zero Covid" strategy in Europe.

Professor Flahau notes that "when the United Kingdom records a higher death rate than Germany, Switzerland or France, it is not said that it is an island that causes its poor performance", acknowledging at the same time that this strategy will dictate the control of borders within the Schengen area.

On his part, Professor Mackie pointed out that "Taiwan and Vietnam have high population densities."

He also rejects another theory put forward by some that Asians are more compliant with strict measures than Europeans, stressing that "it is a very imperialist vision."

Professor Clements concluded that whether the "zero Covid" strategy is exportable or not, "it is too late for that in Europe", as the virus has become highly prevalent, as well as its mutated versions.

Professor Flahau said, "Europe missed the opportunity to adopt a zero-covid strategy at the end of the first quarantine," and "preferred to benefit from the summer," and this is what "allowed the virus to spread."

He calls for "our democracies to open a real debate" to avoid "repeating the mistakes of the past," warning that "many European countries will reach a noticeable decline in the epidemic after a few weeks, and they will have to ask the question."

Europe missed the opportunity to adopt a "zero Covid" strategy at the end of the first quarantine, and preferred to benefit from the summer, and this allowed the virus to spread.

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