TY - JOUR

T1 - How to overcome lockdown

T2 - Selective isolation versus contact tracing

AU - White, Lucie

AU - Van Basshuysen, Philippe

N1 - Funding Information: Funding This research was funded in part by the Volkswagen Foundation within the project ’Bias and Discrimination in Big Data and Algorithmic Processing: Philosophical Assessments, Legal Dimensions, and Technical Solutions.’

PY - 2020/10/28

Y1 - 2020/10/28

N2 - At this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, two policy aims are imperative: Avoiding the need for a general lockdown of the population, with all its economic, social and health costs, and preventing the healthcare system from being overwhelmed by the unchecked spread of infection. Achieving these two aims requires the consideration of unpalatable measures. Julian Savulescu and James Cameron argue that mandatory isolation of the elderly is justified under these circumstances, as they are at increased risk of becoming severely ill from COVID-19, and are thus likely to put disproportionate strain on limited healthcare resources. However, their arguments for this strategy are contingent on the lack of viable alternatives. We suggest that there is a possible alternative: A mandatory, centralised contact-Tracing app. We argue that this strategy is ethically preferable to the selective isolation of the elderly, because it does not target members of a certain group, relying instead on the movements of each individual, and because it avoids the extended isolation of certain members of the society. Although this type of contact-Tracing app has its drawbacks, we contend that this measure warrants serious consideration.

AB - At this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, two policy aims are imperative: Avoiding the need for a general lockdown of the population, with all its economic, social and health costs, and preventing the healthcare system from being overwhelmed by the unchecked spread of infection. Achieving these two aims requires the consideration of unpalatable measures. Julian Savulescu and James Cameron argue that mandatory isolation of the elderly is justified under these circumstances, as they are at increased risk of becoming severely ill from COVID-19, and are thus likely to put disproportionate strain on limited healthcare resources. However, their arguments for this strategy are contingent on the lack of viable alternatives. We suggest that there is a possible alternative: A mandatory, centralised contact-Tracing app. We argue that this strategy is ethically preferable to the selective isolation of the elderly, because it does not target members of a certain group, relying instead on the movements of each individual, and because it avoids the extended isolation of certain members of the society. Although this type of contact-Tracing app has its drawbacks, we contend that this measure warrants serious consideration.

KW - coercion

KW - elderly and terminally ill

KW - emergency medicine

KW - ethics

KW - public policy

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85094933395&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1136/medethics-2020-106680

DO - 10.1136/medethics-2020-106680

M3 - Review article

C2 - 32817409

AN - SCOPUS:85094933395

VL - 46

SP - 724

EP - 725

JO - Journal of medical ethics

JF - Journal of medical ethics

SN - 0306-6800

IS - 11

ER -