Virus: Japanese model.

Byline: Omar Shahkar - Islamabad

PAKISTAN can deal with the Covid-19 pandemic by implementing the Japanese model. What is the Japanese model? It is a cluster-based approach derived from a hypothesis obtained from an epidemiological study based on Chinese data and conducted on the cruise ship, Diamond Princess that entered Yokohama port on Feb 3,2020. This hypothesis states that many passengers were not infected with the coronavirus despite having had close contact with infected persons.

It posits that the explosive increase in infected personsis aresultofthe high transmissibility of certain infected individuals, which forms a cluster.

Infected individuals with even higher transmissibility appear from these clusters to form more clusters and infect many others.

Based on this hypothesis,under the cluster-based approach, each cluster is tracked to the originalinfection source, and persons with high transmissibility are isolated to prevent the spread of infection.Forthisreason,pinpoint testing is carried out and broad testing of the population is notrequired,in contrast to the approach taken in other counties.

Protective measures at airports and ports are important for the cluster-based approach to be effective. However, the basicnecessityisfor residents to act responsibly and ensure they follow the lockdown directives in letter and in spirit.

Another key to the Japanese model is the social distancing method known as the three Cs. This refers to closed spaces with poor ventilation, crowded...