Cite as:

Chen Shen and Yaneer Bar-Yam, Essential coronavirus guidelines, New England Complex Systems Institute (March 11, 2020).

I. EVERYONE:

  • Recognize this is not normal, normal behavior must be modified to survive, protect and sustain life.

  • In 80% of cases the disease is mild, 20% severe requiring hospitalization, 10% in intensive care units and 2-4% deaths. Even mild cases are contagious and can lead to severe cases for others by spreading infection, everyone has a responsibility to protect family, friends, and society from more harm.

  • Minimize contact, maintain essential actions and normal ones where possible, maximize help to others.

  • Immediate ideal response may not be possible, but every action that reduces exposure to infection reduces both your risk and the outbreak, and improvements can happen over time and through collaboration.

II. SELF-ISOLATE:

  • Stay 6 ft/2 m away from others, don’t touch shared/public unsafe surfaces.

  • Help others locally without physical contact, engage others online.

  • Use soap, disinfectant, gloves or plastic bag.

  • Stay informed about typical symptoms, local instructions for testing/treating, be able to act ASAP once any symptom manifests

  • Set up routine check-in with a reliable friend/relative (there are cases the symptoms strike very rapidly).

III. FAMILY/FRIENDS:

  • Share Safe Spaces with family/friends who agree to isolate from others.

  • Coordinate with others in Safe Spaces for mutual help.

  • Individuals with symptoms or positive case identification should isolate separately from family and friends.

IV. COMMUNITY:

  • Identify Zones and, if at all possible, guard boundaries, allow only essential traffic.

  • Organize no-contact delivery of necessities.

  • Certify safe individuals. Screen members for symptoms, test, and isolate.

  • Provide no-contact care for those isolated.

  • Expand shared Safe Space facilities and services.

V. BUSINESS/ORGANIZATIONS:

  • Maximize work from home to enable self-isolation and promote Safe Spaces.

  • Maintain essential functions and reduce impact on all functions using Safe-Space workspaces.

VI. HEALTHCARE:

  • Partition facilities to prevent contagion. Set up large separate temporary spaces for different levels of care.

VII. COMMUNITY/GOVERNMENT/BUSINESS:

  • Organize rapid testing to identify safe individuals and individuals for isolation.

  • Isolate communities with active transmission, help with essential services.

NECSI on the Coronavirus

Updates:

Position Statements:

Guides to Action:

Analyses

Critiques

Innovation Ideas

Background