National academy proposes steps to address corona crisis

The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina has issued a statement addressing various aspects of managing the coronavirus crisis, from testing and tracking to easing of the lockdown, including the partial return to school and functioning of universities.

The Leopoldina recommendations start with the need to substantially improve establishing the infection and immunity status of the population. The academy paper then looks at psychological, social, legal, educational and economic dimensions of the crisis and makes corresponding recommendations.

It generally emphasises that any slackening of lockdown measures depends on keeping new infections at a low level, not putting an excessive strain on the health system, stepping up the identification of new infections and maintaining precautions like hygiene measures, face masks and social distancing.

It presented its proposals just two days before the federal government announced a slackening of restrictions in some areas of day-to-day life.

Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and the heads of state government have agreed on allowing a number of retailers, such as bookshops or car-sellers, to reopen as of 20 April, although big stores, restaurants, cafes and bars will remain closed. Large-scale public events remain banned for the summer, and social distancing continues to be prescribed, with face masks urgently recommended for supermarket customers and public transport passengers.

School teaching will be resumed in some areas from May onwards, with an emphasis on strict precautionary measures and on those taking school-leaving qualifications. Depending on how this works out, schools will admit younger pupils at a later stage.

The Leopoldina scientists suggest that representative and regional surveys establishing the infection and immunity status of the population could be fed into continuous adjustments of dynamic models in real-time. This would enable more reliable short-term forecasts that could then be used in decision-making and assessing the impact of political measures.

In this context, integrating voluntarily provided GPS data in combination with contact tracing, as already practised in South Korea, could enhance the precision of models currently available.

The working group which compiled the recommendations comprises 26 scientists and scholars from various universities and research institutions, representing areas ranging from law, economics and psychology to engineering, chemistry and microbiology.

Among them is Heyo K Kroemer, chairman of the board of the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, who together with Christian Drosten, director of the Charité’s virology department, recently inspired a nationwide university effort to tackle the crisis.

Areas addressed include aspects such as providing support for individuals exposed to domestic violence under lockdown conditions, the preventive segregation of elderly persons, which the paper explicitly rejects, and maintaining the principles of ecological and social sustainability.

The Leopoldina document states that in the education sector the crisis has resulted in a severe decline in supervising, teaching and learning performance, and has aggravated social inequality.

It recommends that teaching institutions be reopened as soon as possible while keeping the risks of infection in mind. In contrast to the federal and state governments, it recommends that reopening start with the infant and junior sector and only then move to secondary education, given that younger children require more supervision and support.

In higher education, the Leopoldina statement recommends that the present summer semester be continued mainly as an online and home-learning semester. Wherever possible, blended learning combining attendance and online concepts could be applied. The Leopoldina document stresses that at all levels, options for taking tests and exams should be maintained wherever possible.

Michael Gardner, E-mail: michael.gardner@uw-news.com