A Green Zone Act to End Community Transmission of the Pandemic
Framework for federal legislation that prevents spread, provides financial support, and is responsive to community needs to end community transmission of the pandemic.
A Green Zone Act is a national plan that provides the protection protocols, financial foundation, and community care to support the goal of ending community transmission throughout the United States. The foundation for each of these pillars will be based on science, socio-economics, and actively listening to communities in order to enact a plan that is responsive, adoptive, and achievable. For the purposes of the Green Zone Act, the United States will achieve the status of green zone once there is no community transmission of COVID-19 and will require coordination of local, state, and federal resources. The purpose of ending community transmission is to protect people’s health and lives, safely grow jobs and businesses, and return to COVID-free social gatherings.
Protection Protocols: The resources, policies, and infrastructure that must be set up for individuals, workers, and communities to prevent spread. This includes providing PPE for individuals and workers, supportive quarantining and isolation for those who have been potentially exposed or sick, accurate quick testing and contact tracing, temporarily suspending in-person economic and educational activity, moving economic and educational activity outside where possible and increasing ventilation inside buildings, and limiting travel from areas that have not stopped community transmission of COVID-19.
Financial Foundation: Covering the economic needs for all stakeholders in the community including the cost of living, cost of operations, and recovery support to temporarily suspend COVID-increasing activities and launch a thriving and sustainable economy after we stop community spread. This requires a comprehensive acknowledgement for individuals: loss of income, pending rents and loans, medical coverage; for businesses and nonprofits: loss of revenue and cost of overhead; and for educational and government institutions: budget shortfalls.
Community Care: An ongoing process to make sure the needs of individuals and communities are being met through listening and feedback. This includes virtual town halls, roundtables, surveys, focus groups, studies on job trends and growth opportunities, and community-based assessments of health and economic recovery. Support to meet community needs include educational campaigns about virus transmission and the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, economic support opportunities, and resource distribution.
Countries have proven that ending community transmission is achievable as modeled by Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The examples set by these countries are an important contrast to current mitigation efforts in the U.S. that have proven unsuccessful due to the nature of the virus’s highly contagious nature and exponential growth. Current goals and metrics that fall short of ending community transmission have prolonged the COVID-19 pandemic in America causing long-term harm to individuals, communities, and the economy. While recent vaccine efficacy is good news, there are important challenges including distribution that will require six months or longer and vaccine reluctance on behalf of a percentage of the general population that will take some time to address. These distribution and adoption issues will prolong and compound the profound health and economic struggles for many individuals and for entire communities.
By passing a national Green Zone Act with protection protocols, financial foundation, and community care to support the goal of ending community transmission throughout the United States we can save lives, recover jobs, and finally enjoy each other’s company once again.
This framework for a Green Zone Act, ‘A Green Zone Act to End Community Transmission of the Pandemic,’ was originally published on GreenZoneAct.com by Joaquín Beltrán. Please visit the website and sign your name in support of a Green Zone Act. Thank you.
