Advice to the House of Representatives on engaging experts to learn lessons from the corona crisis
On 21 July 2020, the Minister of Health sent a letter on Lessons Learned during the corona crisis to the Lower House.
We sent the response and proposal below to the Standing Committee on Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) in the Lower House on 27 July.
In the letter, the minister indicates that he will involve many experts in analysing the measures taken during the past months. The aim is to prevent or limit a second wave of infections. It is notable that most of the experts mentioned in letter are epidemiologists, virologists, economists, behavioural experts and healthcare providers. This seems logical since we are talking about a health crisis.
However, many technical and logistical aspects also had a significant effect on the course of the crisis. Examples include the availability and safety of mouthpieces and breathing machines; indoor ventilation: the logistics of hospital and nursing home resources; the availability and speed of corona tests; and the failure of the appathon.
Currently, a debate on the usefulness of mouthpieces is still ongoing. The technical permeability of different models for liquid droplets and aerosols is essential in this regard. As is the behaviour of aerosols in indoor and outdoor environments. Without that knowledge, a debate on the use of mouth masks is meaningless.
Logistics engineers and organisations with logistics experience and resources can also play an important role in improving the availability and speed of corona testing in the face of rapidly varying demand.
The CoronaMelder app is coming back into the spotlight in early September. After a difficult start, it is now being developed effectively from an ICT perspective. However, the limited contributions from other disciplines may still lead to unexpected developments and risks at launch.
Technical and engineering-scientific knowledge, knowledge of development and procurement processes, knowledge of logistics and the availability of facilities are of decisive importance in crisis management.
KIVItherefore advises the Lower House to ask the minister to include experts from engineering and logistics in his analyses.
As an independent professional association of engineers, we are happy to propose the necessary experts. We can also set up a technical expert table with direct links to knowledge in many dozens of technical disciplines.
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The Hague, 27 July 2020
Do you have any further questions? If so, please contact us at E: jan.wind@kivi.nl
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