Reopening cities after COVID-19
Cities are at the center of global economic activity. They have also been hubs for the spread of COVID-19. City governments have had to shoulder a large share of the fight against the virus. Many have acted decisively to curb its spread and to lower infection levels. They have restricted the movements of citizens, put in place the resources to quickly diagnose and manage the sick, and improved hygiene and safety in public places.
The success of these measures, in place for months, has been accompanied by inevitable negative effects on the economy and social activity (such as education). The pressure to reopen has mounted, and in some cities early attempts to do so resulted in flare-ups of COVID-19. The balance between protecting public health and restoring the economy is now absorbing the attention of municipal authorities everywhere.
Given the danger of resurgence, cities seeking to restart their economies must roll back restrictions with care, ensuring that the pandemic remains under control. Cities are using several metrics to evaluate the public-health situation. The most important of these are the absolute number of infections (including new cases, recovered cases, and active cases) and the reproduction number1 (Rt): the average number of people who become infected by an infected person. Our findings add a third important indicator, resident mobility. Together with the number of infections and Rt, it creates a more rounded view of the state of the pandemic in cities.
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Πηγή: mckinsey
