Curve Crushers Commandments
Follow these rules to Crush the Curve
Discussion group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/640968383371577
***** Buy a cloth mask here *****
March 10, 2020
Rules based on real world experience in Hong Kong successfully curbing the coronavirus (in addition to the testing, tracing, and isolation that every government is already doing).
Venturing out into the World
01. Put on a mask before heading outside
Consider face shields, gloves, and goggles as well.
Masks work. Masks save lives. Even homemade ones. This is especially important on public transportation as people get into close proximity. This limits a lot of asymptomatic transmission. Merely speaking spreads the virus. The US has to become OK with wearing masks, and celebrities can help with promoting the cool factor on the Curve Crushers Commandments to normalize it.
Note: in the US and around the world, currently, there is a medical mask shortage so we should prioritize all medical masks to healthcare workers for obvious reasons. In the meantime, for yourself, you can buy one I made here. Or you can make your own mask which is 90% effective.
You can make a mask out of a t-shirt. This blocks droplets in and out and reduces viral load. You can bake them at 180F for 30 min in an oven to resanitize them. Just 50% of us wearing them could significantly slow the virus.
02. All venues screen all people
Every office building, restaurant, gym, hairdresser, etc follows a strict procedure before letting you enter the premises. They ask you and check for any symptoms (coughing, etc.) and also measure your temperature with a contactless thermometer; this is important because it is cheap and instantaneous, unlike any SARS-CoV-2 test. This catches and contains all symptomatic cases, which are the most contagious. This happens non-stop. It’s annoying but it works.
03. No mask, no entry
They won’t let you enter a shop if you don’t wear a mask. A restaurant will give you an envelope to carry your mask as you eat (so it does not sit on the table and infect the table).
04. Venues sanitize constantly
Hong Kong sanitizes virtually all surfaces every 30 minutes.
Coming back home
05. Sanitize hands
Touch the handle with tissue. Go straight to the bathroom and wash your hands.
06. Sanitize objects
Before entering a home, leave shoes outside.
If you have a bag and groceries, wipe with alcohol wipes all packaging and handle again. Switch to clean indoor clothes and put outdoor clothes into the laundry.
Getting sick
07. Presume COVID-19
Symptoms mean you have some kind of cold, bacteria, or virus. Whether it is SARS-CoV-2 virus actually doesn’t matter since nobody wants to get sick from you either way. The protocol is for you to self-quarantine until you are fully recovered. Wear a mask at all times when around others or in shared spaces.
08. Have a care plan
The government needs to enable paid sick leave for everyone; this is critical. Everyone should have a plan for someone to take care of them when sick so they do not have to leave quarantine.
09. Inform prior contacts
In addition, treat these symptoms as presumptive COVID-19, and inform people you’ve seen from the last 2 weeks that you are now sick; that they could have a disease caught from you; and that they should be wearing masks and self-isolating for a period (14 days?) until it has been incubated. This will be less and less onerous to the population as communicable diseases are diminished.
Details about The Hong Kong Protocol
Hong Kong has been able to keep Coronavirus at bay. They did this through stringent procedures described in this doc, without total governmental lockdown and economic crash. The US (and the world) can do this too through coordinated action. We can band together united in this fight against a microbial menace.
History
Hong Kong, as you might know, has a bit of a problem with its government: there is widespread distrust of it. Some of the Hong Kong response is a grassroots response from the people. The government forced no shutdowns of events except schools. The protocol described in this document is effective and created through practical trial and error. Hong Kong was an epicenter of SARS in 2003, so in 2020 the people were prepared for it and took the risk seriously from the first case of COVID-19.
The US does not have the advantage of already taking viruses seriously, but we can use the lockdown to encourage people to realize that this is serious. In order to avoid lockdowns for 18 months, and seriously infringe on our freedoms, then we need to follow this protocol.
Overview
The fundamental theory behind the Hong Kong Protocol is to reduce the spread of human viruses of any kind. By following stringent self-isolation, temperature taking, quarantine, PPE, and data sharing, we can reduce human fluid exchange enough to prevent influenza, RSV, and SARS-CoV-2 all from spreading throughout the population. The graph below shows that Hong Kong has reduced communicable diseases to near 0 levels for the past 10 weeks. There have been <150 cases of SARS-CoV-2 in HK in the last 10 weeks, without total lockdown of the economy, despite Hong Kong being right next to China. This is the only way to slow COVID-19 without destroying the economy and overwhelming the healthcare system.
Definitions
COVID-19 is the name of the disease, SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the virus (just like AIDS is the name of the disease, and HIV is the name of the virus).
PPE
Personal protective equipment like masks and gloves
Protocol
Protocol for going out
Everyone puts on a mask before going outside. Masks work. Even homemade ones. This is especially important on the subway as people get into close proximity. This limits a lot of asymptomatic transmission. The US has to become OK with wearing masks, and celebrities can help with promoting the cool factor on the Hong Kong Protocol to normalize it.
Hong Kong has a mask shortage just like the US, but individuals had stored thousands of masks because of SARS in 2003. So all individuals had masks, and it’s been customary for 2 decades to wear a mask any time you are sick there. We need to work with China and domestic manufacturers to 10000X mask production. Currently there is a mask shortage so we should prioritize all medical masks to healthcare workers for obvious reasons. In the meantime, for yourself, you can make your own mask which is 90% effective.
You can make a mask out of a t-shirt. This blocks droplets in and out and reduces viral load. You can soak the masks in saline and reuse them, or resanitize then in an oven . Just 50% of us wearing them could significantly slow the virus.
Source: Cambridge
HK is super dense and loves public transport and also HK is a huge international flights huge hub. HK should be overrun like they were with SARS in 2003, it’s a perfect storm, but they aren’t precisely because they learned to deal with it then.
Protocol for entering a venue
Every office building, restaurant, gym, hairdresser, etc follows a strict procedure before letting you enter the premises. They ask you and check for any symptoms (coughing, etc.) and also measure your temperature with a contactless thermometer; this is important because it is cheap and instantaneous, unlike any SARS-CoV-2 test. This catches and contains all symptomatic cases, which are the most contagious. This happens non-stop. It’s annoying but it works.
They won’t let you enter a shop if you don’t wear a mask. A restaurant will give you an envelope to carry your mask as you eat (so it does not sit on the table and infect the table).
Hong Kong sanitizes virtually all surfaces every 30 minutes.
Close schools. Kids will not follow these procedures and do not show symptoms much. Close all the schools.
Protocol for returning home
Before entering a home, leave shoes outside. Touch the handle with tissue. Go straight to the bathroom and wash your hands. If you have a bag and groceries, wipe with alcohol wipes all packaging and handle again. Switch to clean indoor clothes and put outdoor clothes into the laundry.
Protocol after showing any symptoms
Symptoms mean you have some kind of cold, bacteria, or virus. Whether it is SARS-CoV-2 actually doesn’t matter since nobody wants to get sick from you either way. The protocol is for you to self-quarantine until you are fully recovered. Wear a mask at all times. The government needs to enable paid sick leave for everyone; this is critical. Everyone should have a plan for someone to take care of them when sick so they do not have to leave quarantine.
In addition, treat these symptoms as presumptive COVID-19, and inform people you’ve seen from the last week that you are now sick; that they could have a disease caught from you; and that they should be wearing masks and self-isolating for a period (14 days?) until it has been incubated. This will be less and less onerous to the population as communicable diseases are diminished.
Protocol for entering Hong Kong borders
Upon entering the border via plane you fill our health declaration, go through 2 temperature checks, and only then can proceed.
As of March 19, people arriving in Hong Kong who have been to any overseas countries/territories in the past 14 days, regardless of whether they are Hong Kong residents, will be subject to compulsory quarantine.
HK Wristbands track your movements.
Will Americans do all this stuff? Will they take it seriously?
My Hong Kong friend said that Americans would never do this. Let’s prove them wrong!
These procedures save restaurants and small businesses, which support our economy.
Many people weren’t taking COVID-19 seriously, but now they are, including Trump. Now that lockdowns have happened in many states, let’s make the choice clear: follow this protocol or we have to lockdown the city/state/country. Besides hurting freedom, lockdowns have massive economic implications which will kill people.
Should we do this forever?
The hope is that the world’s experts are working on a vaccine that can be delivered in 18 months. These procedures are hard but easier than the total lockdown we are currently experiencing in places like Madrid, Northern Italy, and San Francisco. They can be held together for 18 months until a vaccine is developed. Eliminating all contagious diseases for years can have potential complications with autoimmune diseases, so we do not expect this to last forever.
Data Sharing
HK gov website — https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/index.html
Also shows full history with flights and etc of ppl who got the disease so that people can identify themselves if they met this person or not. “Super useful.”
HK has a real-time map to see if anyone in a building has tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Questions: is this actionable? How useful is this? Would only be useful if <10% of buildings positive?
Discussion group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/640968383371577
The Curve Crushers Commandments come from the protocol used by Hong Kongers and other successful Asian counties in how they have curbed the growth of COVID-19.
Other countries: Other countries in Asia have similar but not the same protocols. This document specifically only outlines Hong Kong’s. Read about other countries here:
Singapore — Their extensive test and trace and quarantine program give them very low numbers. They had 10% mask usage until April when gov finally required universal mask usage and gave out 2 masks per person. [link]
Taiwan — Taiwan has one of the best and clearest programs and recommends universal mask usage. [link]
Japan — Japan does not have as extensive a testing program but it has universal mask usage and an aging at-risk population yet few deaths so far. [link]
South Korea — has the most extensive testing and tracing program, and drive-thru testing centers, and has basically flattened new cases. [link]
Discussion group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/640968383371577
