Public health action against COVID-19 to protect our rights to health

Abstract

The rights to health cover a very wide perspective, not limited to conventional health services, during the pandemic of COVID-19. Public health measures should go beyond implementation of public health regulations and should build up community capacity and good local governance to put effective health interventions into practice, within the local context. Governing bodies need to serve the common good, balancing the benefits of public interest and limitation of individual freedom in compliance with the principle of proportionality and requirement of "absence of arbitrariness". Public health law should also protect the rights entitled by the citizens from exposure to risks. Proactive public health actions and the role of primary health care should be emphasised in the health system and the socio-economic determinants of health for infection control. The public actions against COVID-19 have illustrated the need to ensure the rights of the population to healthcare services that meet timely needs.