Go Lean…Caribbean

Go Lean Commentary

“If the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a pit” – The Bible; Matthew 15:14

This is such graphic language – a word picture – that it is obvious what it means. Even still, the encyclopedic reference is as follows:

“The blind leading the blind” is an idiom and a metaphor in the form of a parallel phrase; it is used to describe a situation where a person who knows nothing is getting advice and help from another person who knows almost nothing. Wikipedia

The world is embattled with the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. There is the need for good leadership in contending with this crisis.  (Yet still, the US President is symbolic of a “Blind Guide” leading the world into ruin. See this bad American example as portrayed in the Appendix D VIDEO below).

The leadership being lamented here is only the political leadership. Yes, good political leadership is definitely lacking.

But alas, this is a Public Health crisis. So how is the Public Health leadership in this crisis?

Answer: Good enough! The problem is the blind political leadership driving the Public Health officials.

On the surface, the world’s Public Health leadership appears to be technocratic (and “Spot On”). See more on the motives and momentum of the primary Public Health and infectious disease agency, the World Health Organization, in the Appendix A below. That’s on the global front; for a Caribbean focus, we have dictates from these two regional organizations:

• The US’s Centers of Disease Control (CDC) – see details in Appendix B below
• Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) – see details in Appendix C below.

Now more than ever, we need to understand these foregoing organizations – WHO, CDC and PAHO. These entities are responsible for any plan that “we” may have for pandemic protections. Yes, these players present their playbooks. In fact, these organizations have been addressed in previous blog-commentaries from the movement behind the 2013 book Go Lean … Caribbean; as in this one from May 23, 2014:

Painful and rapid spread of new virus – Chikungunya – in Caribbean
[The book] Go Lean … Caribbean therefore constitutes a change for the Caribbean. This is a roadmap to consolidate 30 member-states of 4 different languages and 5 colonial legacies (American, British, Dutch, French, Spanish) into a the [Caribbean Union] Trade Federation [(CU)] with the tools/techniques to bring immediate change to the region to benefit one and all member-states. This includes the monitoring/tracking/studying the origins of common and emerging viruses. This empowered CU agency will liaison with foreign entities with the same scope, like the Pan American Health Organization, US’s Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

There is the plan and there is the actual.

The Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is creating havoc in many countries around the world: killings hundreds of thousands and disrupting economic engines. But there appears to only be ONE problem with this Crisis Management: Political Leadership stemming out of the US. In particular, the political leadership of the federal government under Donald Trump; and other countries following Trump’s lead, i.e. Brazil.

But some have refused to follow that blind guide; see this related story here that shows how the State of California opposed the political-directed policies issued by the politically-directed CDC when they recommended looser Coronavirus testing and travel protocols. See here:

Title: California officials oppose CDC over looser coronavirus testing and travel protocols
By: COLLEEN SHALBY, PHIL WILLON
New guidance on coronavirus testing and travel issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention drew strong pushback from California officials Wednesday.

The CDC is no longer recommending a 14-day quarantine for travelers. After the government issued a mandatory quarantine for travelers arriving in the U.S. from Wuhan, China, in February, the guidance that travelers isolate for two weeks was adopted by several states and encouraged by local officials as a key tool in mitigating the spread of the novel coronavirus — especially among people who may be asymptomatic.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday said he disagrees with the CDC’s new guidance and insisted that it will not impact California.

“I don’t agree with the new CDC guidance. Period. Full stop,” he said. “We will not be influenced by that change.”

Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said those traveling to places with high transmission rates should be mindful of the potential to contract the virus and expose others to it. She also reminded residents that L.A. County is a COVID-19 hot spot and traveling from the community could present a risk to outsiders.

“My message really is: Whether you’re flying or staying home, you need to be mindful that we have to reduce our transmission,” she said. “The way we do that is by reducing exposure to other people.”

The CDC also is no longer advising those without symptoms to be tested, even if they have been in contact with an infected person. Ferrer, however, said the county’s recommendation still stands: Anyone who has been exposed to someone with the virus should get tested and self-quarantine.

“This is particularly important if a public health official or doctor tells you to get tested,” she said.

Newsom said Wednesday that California had signed a contract with an East Coast medical diagnostics company to more than double the number of coronavirus tests that can be processed in the state, eventually expanding capacity to roughly a quarter of a million tests a day.

Under the $1.4-billion agreement, a new Santa Clarita lab will be able to provide testing results within two days, far quicker than the average five- to seven-day processing times offered by other labs.

The expanded testing capacity and quicker results will increase the ability of health officials to quickly isolate people who test positive for the virus and to track down and test those who came in contact with them, Newsom said, steps that are crucial to slowing the spread of COVID-19.

The new lab is expected to begin processing coronavirus tests in November. When the lab is at full capacity in March and processing as many as 150,000 tests per day, the cost per test is expected to be a little more than $30, Newsom said. Medicare and Medi-Cal pay about $100 per test, and the average overall cost varies from $150 to $200 per test, state officials said.

Reducing testing costs not only will save money for workers and their employers but also lower costs for Medi-Cal, the federally subsidized insurance program for low-income Californians, the governor said.

“This is exactly what the federal government should be doing,” Newsom said. “Had the federal government done this some time ago, you wouldn’t see average costs [per] test at $150 to $200 — costing the taxpayers, quite literally, tens of billions of dollars, costing employers billions and billions of dollars, costing the health plans billions of dollars as well.”

The news comes as California fights to keep its case count and hospitalization numbers down. The state’s 14-day average for positive tests is at 6.1%, and hospitalizations over that same period have decreased by 17%, Newsom said Wednesday.

In L.A. County, officials reported 58 additional COVID-19 deaths Wednesday and 1,642 additional cases. Those numbers are lower than what was reported just a month ago, but higher than Tuesday’s daily case count, which dipped below 1,000 for the first time since early June.

The drop in infections was reported the same day that the California Department of Public Health reported the county’s 14-day average case rate had dropped below 200 per 100,000 residents. That threshold would allow elementary schools to apply for waivers to hold in-person classes, but on Wednesday, Ferrer said the county is not ready to make that move.

Officials also reported that 1,200 pregnant women and girls between the ages of 14 and 52 have tested positive for the virus and two have died from complications. Of the 193 babies who were tested at birth, eight were positive. This marks the first time the county has reported positive infections among newborn babies.

The number of cases in L.A. County, which totals more than 233,000, surged in June after the county rapidly reopened various sectors of the economy following several months of closures. Activity related to Memorial Day weekend and informal gatherings also contributed to an increase in cases throughout the state.

In addition, mass protests over the death of George Floyd erupted during that time, although officials have said that those outdoor demonstrations did not contribute to the massive surge in new coronavirus infections. Still, it is impossible for officials to trace cases that originate in public spaces.

The statewide surge in cases continued after the July 4 weekend, followed by a reporting backlog error that sent daily infections into record territory.

Those numbers have just begun to decline in recent weeks, as has the number of hospitalizations in California.

The state’s seven-day average for positive coronavirus test results is 5.7%. That is below the country’s overall average, which according to Johns Hopkins University is 6.1%.

But maintaining that progress is not guaranteed if social distancing practices are relaxed, officials warn. In an effort to continue slowing the spread of the virus, some counties are offering to pay workers to stay home and isolate if they contract the virus.

Sacramento County health officials are working on a proposal to offer a stipend of about $12.50 per hour to workers who contract the virus but cannot work from home. The payout amounts to about $1,000 for two weeks.

Los Angeles County, which accounts for the bulk of the state’s more than 682,000 infections and nearly 12,500 deaths, has not introduced any wage-replacement plans similar to those in the Bay Area. But the county is offering residents who complete an interview with a contact tracer a $25 gift certificate.

Source: Posted and retrieved August 26, 2020 from: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-08-26/l-a-county-daily-covid-19-cases-dip-below-1-000-for-first-time-since-early-june

Related: How a rush to reopen drove Los Angeles County into a health crisis

This subject matter relates to Good Governance and the delivery of the implied Social Contract; which is defined as when …

“Citizens surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority of the State in exchange for protection of remaining natural and legal rights”.

This commentary starts a Teaching Series for the month of August 2020 on the subject of Pandemic Playbooks – the need for them and the deficiency there of here in the Caribbean. This is entry 1-of-6 from the movement behind the Go Lean book. The other commentaries in the series are cataloged as follows:

1. Pandemic Playbook: Worldwide Leadership – Plan ==> Actual
2. Pandemic Playbook: Caribbean Inadequacies – Missing the Bubble Opportunities
3. Pandemic Playbook: Bahamas Example – ‘Too Little Too Late’
4. Pandemic Playbook: Only at the Precipice – ENCORE
5. Pandemic Playbook: To Be or Not To Be – COVID Vaccine
6. Pandemic Playbook: Success – Looks like New Zealand

This need for a Pandemic Playbook is implied in this Go Lean roadmap to elevate Caribbean life. There is the need to reboot, reform and transform all societal engines including: economics, security and governance. The actuality of a pandemic and related health care deliveries impact all three of these societal engines. This is what is meant by the term New Guards.

The Go Lean book and roadmap provides a glimpse of a new Caribbean that is ready with these New Guards. These are not foreigners. These are fellow Caribbean brothers and sisters, representing the 30 member-states in the region. They are ready, willing and able to help deliver Good Governance.

The CU structure allows for an Emergency Management functionality within the Homeland Security Department. This CU version is modeled on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the US. See this sample as related in a previous blog-commentary …

Good Governance: Stepping Up in an Emergency
… that agency’s emergency response is based on small, decentralized teams trained in such areas as the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS), Urban Search and Rescue (USAR), Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT), Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), and Mobile Emergency Response Support (MERS).

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society. We need an efficient Pandemic Playbook to contend with this kind of emergency in every community. In addition to all the directions for optimizing the societal engines, there is one advocacy in the book for fostering a better Emergency Management eco-system. This includes Disaster Planning, Response & Recovery. Consider the specific plans, excerpts and headlines from the book on Page 196 entitled:

10 Ways to Improve Emergency Management

This Go Lean book presents that the organizational structure to deliver on a Pandemic Playbook must be embedded in the Emergency Management apparatus of the CU Trade Federation on Day One / Step One of the ascension of this Go Lean roadmap. This is part of the Homeland Security mandate; this is Good Governance. Many more details have been presented in other previous blog-commentaries; consider this sample:

We want Good Governance and we want a Pandemic Playbook so that we can “break glass in case of an emergency”.

It IS an emergency now!

So we must reform and transform our Caribbean governing engines and Homeland Security apparatus. We must be able to better respond-rebuild-recover from emergencies like natural disasters and pandemics.

This commitment would fulfill the delivery of the Social Contract. This is how we can make the Caribbean a better homeland to live, work, heal and play. The people and institutions of the region are hereby urged to lean-in to this Go Lean roadmap; this plan is conceivable, believable and achievable. 🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

• Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
• Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
• Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society.

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

x. Whereas we are surrounded and allied to nations of larger proportions in land mass, populations, and treasuries, elements in their societies may have ill-intent in their pursuits, at the expense of the safety and security of our citizens. We must therefore appoint “new guards” to ensure our public safety and threats against our society, both domestic and foreign. …

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xii. Whereas the legacy in recent times in individual states may be that of ineffectual governance with no redress to higher authority, the accedence of this Federation will ensure accountability and escalation of the human and civil rights of the people for good governance, justice assurances, due process and the rule of law. As such, any threats of a “failed state” status for any member state must enact emergency measures on behalf of the Federation to protect the human, civil and property rights of the citizens, residents, allies, trading partners, and visitors of the affected member state and the Federation as a whole.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation. 

—————–

Appendix A – World Health Organization (WHO)

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health.^[1] The WHO Constitution, which establishes the agency’s governing structure and principles, states its main objective as “the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health.”^[2] It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with six semi-autonomous regional offices and 150 field offices worldwide.

The WHO was established by constitution on 7 April 1948,^[3] …

The WHO’s broad mandate includes advocating for universal healthcare, monitoring public health risks, coordinating responses to health emergencies, and promoting human health and well being.^[7] It provides technical assistance to countries, sets international health standards and guidelines, and collects data on global health issues through the World Health Survey. Its flagship publication, the World Health Report, provides expert assessments of global health topics and health statistics on all nations.^[8] The WHO also serves as a forum for summits and discussions on health issues.^[1]

The WHO has played a leading role in several public health achievements, most notably the eradication of smallpox, the near-eradication of polio, and the development of an Ebola vaccine. Its current priorities include communicable diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS, Ebola, malaria and tuberculosis; non-communicable diseases such as heart disease and cancer; healthy diet, nutrition, and food security; occupational health; and substance abuse.

…

2019–20 COVID-19 pandemic
The WHO faced criticism from the United States’ Trump administration while “guid[ing] the world in how to tackle the deadly” COVID-19 pandemic.^[199] The WHO created an Incident Management Support Team on 1 January 2020, one day after Chinese health authorities notified the organization of a cluster of pneumonia cases of unknown etiology.^{[199][200][201]} On 5 January the WHO notified all member states of the outbreak,^[202] and in subsequent days provided guidance to all countries on how to respond,^[202] and confirmed the first infection outside China.^[203] The organization warned of limited human-to-human transmission on 14 January, and confirmed human-to-human transmission one week later.^{[204][205][206]} On 30 January the WHO declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern,^[207][208] considered a “call to action” and “last resort” measure for the international community.^[209] The WHO’s recommendations were followed by many countries including Germany, Singapore and South Korea, but not by the United States.^[199] The WHO subsequently established a program to deliver testing, protective, and medical supplies to low-income countries to help them manage the crisis.^[199]

While organizing the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and overseeing “more than 35 emergency operations” for cholera, measles and other epidemics internationally,^[199] the WHO has been criticized for praising China’s public health response to the crisis while seeking to maintain a “diplomatic balancing act” between China and the United States.^{[201][210][211][212]} Commentators including John Mackenzie of the WHO’s emergency committee and Anne Schuchat of the US CDC have stated that China’s official tally of cases and deaths may be an underestimation. David Heymann, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said in response that “China has been very transparent and open in sharing its data… and they opened up all of their files with the WHO.”^[213]

Opposition from the Trump Administration
On 14 April 2020, United States President Donald Trump pledged to halt United States funding to the WHO while reviewing its role in “severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus.”^[214] The United States had paid half of its annual assessed fees to the WHO as of 31 March 2020; it would ordinarily pay its remaining fees in September 2020.^[215] World leaders and health experts largely condemned President Trump’s announcement, which came amid criticism of his response to the outbreak in the United States.^[216] WHO called the announcement “regrettable” and defended its actions in alerting the world to the emergence of COVID-19.^[217] Trump critics also said that such a suspension would be illegal, though legal experts speaking to Politifact said its legality could depend on the particular way in which the suspension was executed.^[215] On 8 May 2020, the United States blocked a vote on a U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at promoting nonviolent international cooperation during the pandemic, and mentioning the WHO.^[218] On 18 May 2020, Trump threatened to permanently terminate all American funding of WHO and consider ending U.S. membership.^[219] On 29 May 2020, President Trump announced plans to withdraw the U.S. from the WHO,^[220] though it was unclear whether he had the authority to do so.^[221] On 7 July 2020, President Trump formally notified the UN of his intent to withdraw the United States from the WHO.^[222]

…

Source: Retrieved August 25, 2020 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization

—————–

Appendix B – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a national public health institute in the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services,^[2] and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.^[3]

Its main goal is to protect public health and safety through the control and prevention of disease, injury, and disability in the US and internationally.^[4] The CDC focuses national attention on developing and applying disease control and prevention. It especially focuses its attention on infectious disease, food borne pathogens, environmental health, occupational safety and health, health promotion, injury prevention and educational activities designed to improve the health of United States citizens. The CDC also conducts research and provides information on non-infectious diseases, such as obesity and diabetes, and is a founding member of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes.^[5]

…

COVID-19
The first confirmed case of COVID-19 was discovered in the U.S. on January 20, 2020.^[84] But widespread COVID-19 testing in the United States was effectively stalled until February 28, when federal officials revised a faulty CDC test, and days afterward, when the Food and Drug Administration began loosening rules that had restricted other labs from developing tests.^[85] In February 2020, as the CDC’s early coronavirus test malfunctioned nationwide,^[86] CDC Director Robert R. Redfield reassured fellow officials on the White House Coronavirus Task Force that the problem would be quickly solved, according to White House officials. It took about three weeks to sort out the failed test kits, which may have been contaminated during their processing in a CDC lab. Later investigations by the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services found that the CDC had violated its own protocols in developing its tests.^[86][87]

In May 2020, The Atlantic reported that the CDC was conflating the results of two different types of coronavirus tests — tests that diagnose current coronavirus infections, and tests that measure whether someone has ever had the virus. The magazine said this distorted several important metrics, provided the country with an inaccurate picture of the state of the pandemic, and overstated the country’s testing ability.^[88]

In July 2020, the Trump administration ordered hospitals to bypass the CDC and instead send all COVID-19 patient information to a database at the Department of Health and Human Services. Some health experts opposed the order and warned that the data might become politicized or withheld from the public.^[89] On July 15, the CDC alarmed health care groups by temporarily removing COVID-19 dashboards from its website. It restored the data a day later.^[90][91][92]

…

Source: Retrieved August 25, 2020 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centers_for_Disease_Control_and_Prevention

—————–

Appendix C – Pan American Health Organization

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is an international public health agency working to improve health and living standards of the people of the Americas. It is part of the United Nations system, serving as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization and as the health organization of the Inter-American System. It is known in Latin America as the OPS or OPAS (Spanish: Organización Panamericana de la Salud; Portuguese: Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde).

Description
PAHO has scientific and technical expertise at its headquarters, in its 27 country offices, and its three Pan American centers, all working with the countries of the Americas in dealing with priority health issues. The health authorities of PAHO’s Member States set PAHO’s technical and administrative policies through its Governing Bodies. PAHO Member States include all 35 countries in the Americas; Puerto Rico is an Associate Member. France, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are Participating States, and Portugal and Spain are Observer States.

The Organization’s essential mission is to strengthen national and local health systems and improve the health of the peoples of the Americas, in collaboration with Ministries of Health, other government and international agencies, nongovernmental organizations, universities, social security agencies, community groups, and many others.

PAHO promotes universal health coverage and universal access to health and strengthening of health systems based on primary health care strategies. It assists countries in fighting infectious diseases such as malaria, cholera, dengue, HIV and tuberculosis as well as the region’s growing epidemic of noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. PAHO engages in technical cooperation with ministries of health and facilitates coordination with other sectors to promote health in all policies.
…

History
The organization was founded in December 1902. It was originally called the Pan-American Sanitary Bureau.^[3]:125 In 1949, PAHO and WHO signed an agreement making PAHO the American Regional Office (AMRO) of WHO. Today the usual phrasing is “Regional Office for the Americas”.

…

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_American_Health_Organization

—————–

APPENDIX D VIDEO – COVID-19: How Did The US Get It So Wrong? – https://youtu.be/ltJV3IMP-Dg

CNA Insider
America has the highest number of #COVID19 infections and deaths in the world. Why was its response to the global pandemic too late and too little? From President Donald Trump’s re-election bid, to the US Centre For Disease Control & Prevention’s failure to roll out testing earlier, and the lack of PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) for healthcare workers, the programme #Insight looks at the issues.

The full episode: https://youtu.be/ZK3PYcnHZBQ

For more, SUBSCRIBE to CNA INSIDER! https://www.youtube.com/cnainsider

Follow CNA INSIDER on:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnainsider/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cnainsider/

Website: https://cna.asia/cnainsider