Thread by @AndrewHammel1

1/ What would I have done to contain Covid if I were King of Europe? In the first phase, when we didn't know much about the disease, lockdowns until enough data had been gathered about risk/mortality/treatment, etc. Pour billions into vaccines starting Day 1, perhaps

2/ announcing a contest. During the late Spring/summer lull, which happens with all respiratory viruses, begin aggressive contact tracing. Temporarily suspend data-privacy regulations and create a vigorous, workable tracing app. Setting the GDPR aside is a whole lot

3/ less of a rights violation than a lockdown, isn't it? Organize massive track and trace teams to figure out where the virus is most likely to circulate. At the same time, during the summer, create thousands of portable container ICU beds and a staff of well-paid

4/ roving emergency room doctors and nurses on-call to deal with any flare-ups and the inevitable case spike in winter. China built an entire hospital in a few weeks; the only thing stopping Europe from doing this is, well, the European mentality. Which needs to be jettisoned.

5/ Lift the lockdowns in the early summer. Start an intensive voluntary public-health campaign about masks, social distancing, ventilation, enclosed spaces. Encourage people to spend as much time outside as possible. Rely on the good sense of the majority of people.

6/ When the inevitable winter wave hits, don't panic. Tell people this is normal with all viruses. Use the information gathered over the summer to aggressively track-and-trace outbreaks. Lockdown or restrict those activities/places which pose the greatest risk, and *only*

7/ those. Accommodate severely ill patients in ICU containers and exhibition centers, etc. transformed into overflow catchment areas. Import doctors from less hard-hit countries, and reward them generously. Above all, communicate accurate, clear, and sober information

8/ to the public: *this* is where your risk is highest, *this* is where it's lowest. Be honest about who is dying from Covid and why. Tell people the virus is here to stay, and will mutate, but that we can use technology and common sense to live with it

9/ without sacrificing our freedoms. When vaccines are finally approved, buy 3 times the population numbers. Pay every German/European €40 for each jab, which will put money in consumer pockets and stimulate demand. Flood every city with drive-through/walk-through vaccine

10/ one on every street corner. Have face-paint for the kiddies, cold beer for the adults. Do away with bureaucracy; have fresh vaccination passes for people who don't have one. Register everything online. And watch case numbers plummet.

11/ Would this be costly? Of course it would -- but lockdowns cost much, much more, both financially and emotionally. Will it allow more Covid cases than a total lockdown? Probably, but the benefits outweigh the extra cases. In my view, this is what a competent,

aggressive, but *balanced* and *proportional* response would have looked like. A pity Europe, with its vase pool of resources and talent, couldn't organize this. But then again, Europe gets the politicians it votes for...

*vast

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