It will take more than a vaccine to control this pandemic. Besides the risk of losing more lives, many people including those following public health guidelines are helplessly losing their livelihoods, causing further mental anguish.

The government can only do so much with ‘finite’ resources and budgets. We simply can’t afford repeated shutdowns without causing an economic disaster of dire consequences, in addition to a community medical crisis.

The solution requires a multi-faceted approach and synergistic cooperation of communities, government, public health, technology and pharmaceutical companies alike, to finally get this pandemic under control. We ALL have a role to play so let’s consider them:

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COMMUNITY ROLES:

1. OPTIMAL HYGIENE PRACTICES: Clean & disinfect frequently contacted surfaces daily with approved products suitable for use against COVID-19. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth and use a tissue when necessary to be discarded immediately after use. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
2. RESTRICTED SOCIAL INTERACTIONS: Avoid Travel – remain within your community; Avoid Crowds – attend virtual classrooms and work meetings if possible; Cancel Events – including protests and celebrations (those can wait); Social Distancing – maintain a distance of 6 feet or more between yourself and another person; Restrict Interactions – to members of your household only and avoid holiday gatherings with other friends & family as per updated Public Health Guidelines. Having said that, it’s important to maintain communication with loved ones, albeit virtually.
3. WEAR A MASK: A person infected with coronavirus — even one without symptoms — may emit aerosols when they talk or breathe. Another person can breathe in these aerosols and become infected with the virus. A mask can help prevent that spread. 
4. GET TESTED: If you are sick, get tested, then isolate.
5. COVID ALERT APP: Download it and if you become infected, report it. It is private and confidential.

GOVERNMENT ROLES:

1. COMMUNICATE: Inform the public of policies, protocol and restrictions with evidence-based decision-making in collaboration with the medical and scientific community. Effective policies should then be relayed globally to other nations and regions to remove the tentacles of the pandemic.
2. LOGISTICS: Ensure the availability of PPE, medical and emergency supplies with minimal disruption of supply chains.
3. SUPPORT: Assist Public Health authorities to establish an aggressive “find, test, trace and isolate” process with shorter turnaround times.
4. FINANCIAL AID: Provide financial assistance to businesses, employees, students and those whose livelihood has been affected by the pandemic. Provide assistance to technology and pharmaceutical companies, specifically assigned with objectives that will help fight the pandemic.

PUBLIC HEALTH ROLES:

1. CONTACT TRACING:  Implement manual contact tracing. A “close contact” is someone who spends 15 minutes or more within six feet of a person with COVID-19 over a period of 24 hours. Identify everyone that a person recently diagnosed with COVID-19 has been in contact with since they became contagious. In the case of COVID-19, a person may be contagious 48 to 72 hours before they exhibit symptoms. Advise “close contacts” with guidelines to follow depending on their status as either asymptomatic or symptomatic, including the need to self-isolate while waiting for the test result.
2. COVID ALERT APP: Promote and encourage the use of the COVID Alert App as part of a Contact Tracing strategy. If an individual has been near a user who tested positive within the last 14 days, an alert notification should be sent to that individual who should then be guided about the next appropriate steps.
3. FIND, TEST, TRACE & ISOLATE: Optimize the efficiency of the “find, test, trace and isolate” process, with an emphasis to achieve a short turnaround time between specimen collection and availability of the result.

TECHNOLOGY SECTOR ROLES:

1. SAFE SPACE TECHNOLOGY: The ability to detect the virus in the air in closed spaces can be an effective early interventional strategy, to protect people indoors and thereby allow outbreaks to be contained before they occur. Currently, a device called the Biocloud® Analyzer – developed by Kontrol Energy Inc (CNSX: KNR), is a real-time analyzer designed to detect airborne viruses including but not limited to Sars-CoV-2. Ideal applications would include classrooms, hospitals, senior care homes, mass transportation and more.
2. AIR CLEANERS & HVAC FILTERS: The principal mode by which people are infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) is through exposure to respiratory droplets carrying the infectious virus. Small droplets and particles can remain suspended in the air for hours and can travel from the source on air currents. Air Purifiers and HVAC filters can play a part in filtering these particles to avoid further spread. It’s important to note the Biocloud® Analyzer can be connected to a HVAC unit or operate as a standalone device.

PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY ROLES:

1. VACCINE: Develop a COVID-19 vaccine that will SAFELY and EFFECTIVELY stimulate the body’s immune system to create antibodies that protect against the virus. For the development of the vaccine, consider the term of effectiveness and potential side effects.
2. THERAPEUTICS: Develop supplemental therapeutics to help fight the severity of the infection, especially for the most vulnerable population.
3. COLLABORATE: Collaborate with the science and medical community including other pharmaceutical companies to share research and phased trials for greater efficiency and unified success.

The overall cost to implement this Pandemic Mitigation Strategy is conservative when compared to the government’s fiscal response and the accumulated economic losses associated with the pandemic.

No single tool or resource is enough to protect people from the virus that causes COVID-19. Minimizing contact with people who have an infection is the ONLY way to prevent additional SARS-CoV-2 infections, even with the availability of an effective vaccine.

It’s time we recognize this is a complex problem, requiring a multi-faceted solution, with synergistic cooperation by everyone. Ay, there’s the rub!

Disclosure: The TFSA Millionaire Portfolio presented at tfsamillionaire.com, first featured Kontrol Energy Inc at $0.45 and we currently own shares with projections for future growth.