Covid-19 response ignores social context at our peril

Social cues: A man in a Balinese ‘celuluk’ costume with a facemask offering free wrapped rice during a campaign to promote wearing masks in Bali. Making sure Covid-19 precautions take social context into account is important in ensuring adherence. — AP

WHILE frantically reading news about Covid-19, I wonder why the voices of social scientists and even public health specialists seem so subdued.

Being a medical anthropologist, I will start from what we may be most obsessed with: context, context, context. We know that the key in preventing transmission is slowing down human movement and reducing crowding. Based on experience with related viruses, especially in Asia, we have a number of tools at our disposal, from testing and identification of carriers and their contacts to washing hands and physical distancing, isolation and quarantine – to name a few.