Ban gatherings of more than 10 people to contain Covid: Lancet report

The report recommended complete closure of indoor spaces including office buildings, schools, restaurants with indoor dining, shops, malls and places of worship

Hyderabad: The India Task Force of ‘The Lancet Covid-19 Commission’ in its report ‘Country-wide Containment Strategies for Reducing COVID-19 Cases in India’ has said that a series of measures including a ban on gatherings of greater than ten individuals and closure of all indoor public spaces were needed for containment of the second wave.

The Lancet report, which was published on April 30, said that in India, the R (reproduction number) is greater than 1 in every State. “This means that containment measures are critical to reduce the spread of Covid-19. It also means that India needs a coordinated response across all the States in a systematic, synchronised manner,” it said.

As part of recommendations to reduce interpersonal contact and improve hygiene, the report recommended complete closure of indoor spaces including office buildings, schools, restaurants with indoor dining, shops, malls and places of worship.

“We recommend that all Covid hot spots enact closures immediately and in a synchronized, coordinated manner, a complete ban on gatherings of greater than 10 persons at any given place, as well as closures of all venues that can host such gatherings (including family meet-ups) for all medium risk and hot spot geographies. This ban can be in place for as long as necessary to bring the epidemic to an end,” The Lancet report said.

The Indian Task Force highlighted the need to have a robust large scale Covid testing as an essential element to get an accurate picture of the trajectory of the pandemic.

Important recommendations

• Ban on gatherings of more than 10 persons
• Closure of venues that can host gatherings
• Close indoor spaces including offices, schools, restaurants with indoor dining, shopping malls, places of worship
• Covid 19 is airborne disease, that spreads effectively in confined, indoor spaces
• Mandatory universal masking in confined spaces and outdoors
• Physical distancing, hygiene, scaled-up testing
• Coverage of vaccination should be first ramped-up in hotspot and medium risk geographies to reduce severity of illness
• In low risk areas, vaccination for priority age groups like above 45 years and individuals with co-morbid conditions

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