Human Mass Gatherings and Communicable Diseases: COVID-19

Mass gatherings are human community held for specific purposes and ceremonies, worldwide. Many of them originate from the beliefs, culture and traditions of societies. Several gatherings of religious, national, sports, political, scientific, are held in the Islamic Republic of Iran, which some of them are on very large scales. The aim of this paper is key planning considerations for the organizers of mass gatherings in the context of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

This paper published by using the WHO’s Public health for mass gatherings key considerations and other reliable national and international references and websites.

Meeting organizers should consider three phases in planning appropriate preparedness measures (Planning, Operational, and Post-event phases). Specific actions to be taken in each phase are discussed:In Planning phase: Liaison with local and national public Health authorities; Risk assessment; Specific action plan for COVID-19; Capacity and resource assessment; and Risk communication and community engagement plan In Operational phase: Risk communication; Surveillance of participants; Testing and diagnostic arrangements; Treatment facilities; Decision-making; and Operational practices for reducing event-related transmission of the COVID-19 virus.
In Post-event phase: Support the response of authorities, if public health authorities suspect that transmission of the COVID-19 virus has occurred; Risk communication; Use and fallow the lessons identified;

A basic medical action plan must be created for every mass gathering event. Providing safety, security and health of the participants during the ceremonies is one of the most important tasks, have been considered in the mission of various organizations such as police, fire stations, hospital emergencies, etc. According to the services they provide, health organizations play an important role in providing and restoring health before, during and after gatherings.