A Swiss cheese slice has holes because of carbon dioxide bubbles that form in the cheese during its making. The Swiss cheese model is an excellent way to explain about protection that one can get from the coronavirus reaching you.
Each Swiss cheese slice as depicted in the diagram below is an intervention or an obstruction in the path of the virus trying to reach you.
No intervention is complete due to the holes which allow the virus to escape and reach you. If you want that the virus should not reach you then your defenses should be strong.
Just one intervention will not give you the protection to keep you safe from the virus. Multiple layers of cheese slices (interventions) will offer the protection as they will build a stronger defense, a strong barrier to reduce the spread of covid.
If you want to reduce your chance of the virus reaching you, make sure all 11 interventions are included in your armamentarium to make your defenses strong. The enemy (virus) will find it difficult to reach you as it would have to cross all the interventions.
You can’t do much about the holes (escape routes) but by increasing the interventions you make your defenses strong and reduce your chances of the virus reaching you. Don’t let this opportunity go.
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Dr Ajay Sati is an Occupational Health physician who prefers to describe himself as an Occupationist, to denote, ‘an expert in diseases and other concerns of occupations’. Dr Sati has managed health and wellness programs in industries he worked, like the atomic energy, and energy (oil & gas) in India and overseas. He was involved in many greenfield and brownfield projects providing inputs from health point of view. Known for SOPs and protocols, he is currently involved with an energy MNC in designing protocols to support employees during the covid pandemic, and protocols to safely reopen offices and plants.
