Category: Pandemic

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global health crisis that changed the lives of people all over the world. The pandemic broke out in China in December 2019, and by March 2020 has affected almost all countries around the globe causing national governments to introduce a range of drastic measures. Almost half of the world’s population has spent several weeks on lockdown endorsed to limit the spread of the virus. As of June 2020, the infection rates are slowly decreasing, and many countries have started to ease quarantine restrictions, preparing for a gradual return to normal life. Both national governments and international organizations strive to develop recovery strategies that would not only allow countries to bounce back but also provide a ground for future economic and social development. For the UAE, the pandemic poses a serious economic challenge that now requires the country to rethink its priorities to deal with the crisis without risking public health. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the United Arab Emirates’ national and international response to the pandemic and propose a list of recovery measures aimed to deal with its consequences.

International Response to the Pandemic

As a first response to the virus outbreak, many governments and air carriers canceled and reduced the number of flights to and from the affected regions and imposed travel restrictions of varying intensity, up to a total border closure. As the virus was spreading, more severe measures were introduced, including self-isolation, cancellation of all public events, flexible work arrangements, distant learning, closure of non-essential facilities and services, and movement restrictions. Many businesses switched to remote work, reduced their working hours, introduced social distancing measures on worksites, and cut down the number of employees. During the quarantine, international production and consumption rates decreased, gas prices dropped, and many countries’ economies faced a severe crisis that prompted governments to launch a range of drastic economic measures.

The UAE’s National Response to the Pandemic

The United Arab Emirates was the first country in the Middle East to report a coronavirus case at the end of January 2020, followed by a steady increase in the number of positive cases. In March 2020, the government introduced a range of initiatives to control the spread of COVID-19, including the cancellation of sports events, festivals, and religious services, and the closure of schools, retail outlets, and public spaces. Many businesses and transportation services throughout the country were forced to close or highly impacted by shutdown restrictions. The country’s economy experienced a slump as oil prices dropped down amid the quarantine. To support people and businesses, the country launched a range of economic initiatives, including measures to ensure an uninterrupted supply of consumer goods and prevent unfair pricing practices. As of June 2020, the country has returned to normal life, but its economy is still in the grip of the global pandemic.

The UAE’s International Response to the Pandemic

The government’s international response to the virus outbreak was first focused on aid and repatriation initiatives. The state-organized repatriation flights for people stranded in Wuhan—both the citizens of the UAE and the neighboring countries, charted planes with Emirati nationals from China and the UK, and arranged flights for foreign citizens stranded in the UAE and wish to return to their countries. Residence permits for foreign nationals were extended for a period of three months. For the whole duration of the quarantine, the UAE has been working with other national governments and international organizations to deliver assistance to the countries most affected by the pandemic. It supplied medical and protective equipment to regions in need, donated coronavirus test kits to the US, and collaborated with the World Health Organization on COVID-19 testing initiatives. In the UK, the ExCeL conference center owned by the Abu-Dhabi-based company was converted into a temporary coronavirus hospital.

Recommendations for the UAE’s Recovery on the International Level

As of June 2020, the world is starting to slowly recover from the pandemic, as the quarantine restrictions are gradually being lifted all over the globe. The measures aimed to control the spread of the virus are slowly giving way to recovery strategies. Both international organizations and national governments are introducing initiatives to come out of the crisis with minimum damage to the economy, businesses, and healthcare. A coordinated and comprehensive strategy is required for each country to address the global consequences of the pandemic and collaboratively prepare the world for recovery. The proposed course of action for the United Arab Emirates on the international level includes:

• Collaborating with the world’s countries and international organizations on vaccine development.
• Providing aid to the UAE’s citizens abroad, particularly in the hardest-hit countries.
• Supporting the countries that have been most affected by the pandemic or are still in the middle of the virus outbreak.
• Collaborative efforts aimed to support and stabilize global financial markets and the economy.
• Collaborating with national governments to support major international corporations.

National Recovery Recommendations for the UAE

The UAE’s COVID-19 measures proved to be effective, as indicated by the current recovery rate. The country’s further domestic strategy should focus on the development of health security measures to prevent the second outbreak of the viruses, providing aid to local businesses and the population, and the initiatives intended to support the country’s economy. The proposed recommendations for the United Arab Emirates to recover after the pandemic include:

• Public health safety measures, including the development of guidelines for businesses to ensure security at workplaces, public transport, and public spaces restrictions, and individual infection prevention measures. The proposed restrictions should be lighter than those active during the peak of the outbreak, but, nevertheless, strictly observed. For example, the guidelines for businesses should include the introduction of flexible working hours, reducing the number of employees, sterilization, provision of disinfectants to customers and employees, and measures to ensure social distancing. People at higher risk of getting infected should continue working from home.
• Supporting health care practitioners and increasing the number of online consultations provided by health care institutions to reduce the number of patients coming to hospitals.
• Checklists and guidelines for people returning from other countries, including the provision of COVID-19 negative certificates.
• Financial support to families most affected by the pandemic.
• Financial support for organizations, businesses, and institutions hardest hit by the pandemic.
• Financial measures are aimed to facilitate long-term economic recovery.

Conclusion

As the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is slowly starting to improve, international organizations and national governments start to develop a new range of measures to prepare the world for recovery. It is now clear that the economy is the most affected sector, with the decrease in production and consumption and the drop in oil prices affecting many countries’ financial stability. The new strategies should focus on preventing the second outbreak of the virus, ensuring public health safety, supporting local businesses and organizations, and developing financial measures aimed at answering the pandemic’s consequences. National governments should work collaboratively on vaccine development, providing support to hardest-hit countries, and economic measures to help the global economy recover.

References

Alsuwaidi, A. R., al Hosani, F. I., ElGhazali, G., & al-Ramadi, B. K. (2019). The COVID-19 response in the United Arab Emirates: challenges and opportunities. Nature Immunology, 22(9), 1066–1067. Web.

al Hosany, F., Ganesan, S., al Memari, S., al Mazrouei, S., Ahamed, F., Koshy, A., & Zaher, W. (2019). Response to COVID-19 pandemic in the UAE: A public health perspective. Journal of Global Health, 11. Web.

The Covid 19 outbreak became a nationwide health crisis promoting striking responses. Quick and unthinkable approaches have been applied to flatten the curve and prevent overpowering American health facilities. Without a coordinated national response towards the outbreak, the pandemic has underscored the promise and limits of the tenth amendment. The local and state governments have fought to use policies to safeguard their people and reduce cases of death. The outcome has been a mixture of advisories plus orders that disclose regional disparities and certain surprising inconsistencies. The dependency on local and regional authorities has generated lots of innovative programs and great trials at regional coordination but has also resulted in direct competition among levels of power as they vie for desperately required resources. During the early days of the covid-19 pandemic in America, the preparedness and response policy was based on different levels of power, the national level, state level and local government level, which later transformed into a cooperative level.

The degree of urgency was never shared by the key actors in the national government. During Trump’s reign, this pandemic emerged; the President was very slow to acknowledge the pandemic’s threat. He continuously downplayed the threats and convinced the nation that the virus was contained and would escape one day. Trump did not declare a national emergency until March 13th, 2020, turning out to be two and half months after the initial case getting reported (Knauer, 23). The federal government announced the social distance guidelines on March 15th, minimizing social meetings to less than fifty individuals. This was imposed after the state and local authorities had enacted the policies in their regions (Knauer, 26). The federal government was supposed to play a core role in this national response since a pandemic, by its own nature, is a crisis that demands quick and robust federal actions.

In the wake of the pandemic, many states released a number of executive orders in response to the coronavirus. Some orders came before the state national emergency declaration, as early as February 2020. The first was the stay-at-home order, which was issued by around forty-three states. The states as well declared legislation session suspensions and school and court closures. Another order was the release of the prison inmates, of which only twenty-one states had released their inmates (Ballotpedia, 2). All these approaches were intended to flatten the curve on a state level.

Ten of thousands of local authorities declared policy changes in response to the covid 19 outbreak. The Local government sounded the alarm early though they did not have enough resources to respond to the pandemic (Cigler, 1). This is because the local actors did not get help of the federal government, leave alone forging a coordinated federal response where the state, local and federal work together by mixing resources, programs and power (Ginsberg et al., 76). The coordinated response later came into force after the federal government declared a state of national emergency. The local governments could now easily announce the closure of schools, offices and services. They also banned gatherings for the safety of the local American people by getting a good support from the national government.

In conclusion, during the early months of the coronavirus outbreak, the state and local authorities had been crucial players and early adopters of the guidelines like social distancing through, limitation on non-essential services, lockdown orders, and school and court closings alongside the release of prison inmates. All of these measures were designed to reduce the spread of the virus. The federal government later emerged in support of thwarting the spread of the pandemic, thus making the whole government work together to curb the pandemic.

Works Cited

Ballotpedia. “State Government Responses to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic, 2020.”Ballotpedia. Web.

Cigler, Beverly A. “Fighting COVID-19 in the United States With Federalism and Other Constitutional and Statutory Authority.”Publius: The Journal of Federalism, vol. 51, no. 4, Oxford UP (OUP), 2021, pp. 673–92. Web.

Ginsberg, Benjamin, et al. We The People. Essentials Thirteenth, W. W. Norton and Company, 2021.

Knauer, Nancy J. “The COVID-19 pandemic and federalism: Who decides?.” NYUJ Legis. & Pub. Pol’y 23 (2020): 1.

At the present day, the most important aspect of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations comes in the form of advice concerning pain, illness, anxiety, and loss. In the time of the pandemic, much of Auerlieus’s philosophies sound relevant, due to the fact that he lived through and even wrote The Meditations during plagues. As such, the book offers ways in which it can be possible to cope and develop a psychological resilience to the events occurring during the pandemic. It is the innate belief of a Stoic philosopher that true good is within the character and actions of a person, and the belief has a strong distinction between what we can and cannot control.

It can also be referred to as the dichotomy of control, which states that what happens to a person is never in their complete control, unlike their actions and thoughts, which are. He believes that “everything that happens, happens as it should, and if you observe carefully you will find this to be so” (Aurelius, 2002). This can work to alleviate stress, as one can come to realize that though the pandemic is happening it is not within the control of any individual, while an individual’s response and attitude during the pandemic is.

More advice can be taken from Aurelius in the beginning of The Meditations in which he describes the qualities in the people he admires. He is able to hypothesize about which virtues exist in him that can assist with the present situations, which then leads to asking about how others are able to cope with a similar situation. From a Stoic perspective, a person is able to consider character strengths, such as wisdom, self-discipline, or patience, in oneself and others in times that are full of adversity. Following the advice of Aurelius, a person can expand on their better qualities during a time of adversity such a pandemic in their daily life and interactions with others.

Work Cited

Aurelius, Marcus. The Meditations. Random House, 2002.

The lack of clarity inherent within the law governing employment status provides unscrupulous employees and employers with enough room for confusing the system and achieving their own objectives. One of the main reasons why it became possible was the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequent impact on all kinds of areas of employment across the UK. The lack of balance in terms of the knowledge of one’s rights became the cornerstone of cases of exploitation and unfair treatment over the course of the past two years. Thus, practically no new rulings took on the ability of employees and employers to display unscrupulousness and make the best use of the system. The pressure created by the pandemic could not be overcome because lots of employees refused to take flexible working hours and control their work-life balance better. Thus, the core issue affecting many organizations across the UK at the moment is the need to increase minimum wages and battle inflation while having to cope with unscrupulous employees and employers trying to exploit the legislation for their own benefit.

One of the most popular tactics utilized by employers is to fire and rehire employees to offer them worse-term contracts that they will not be able to refuse due to the lack of available jobs. This may be a violation of Employment Rights, established back in 1996, in the Fairness section. A fair dismissal must be correct and reasonably justified; if the employee is re-hired but with worse conditions, this violates the original fairness of the dismissal. This is one of the threats that practically cannot be monitored by the Trade Unions Congress to ensure that it is not going to repeat in the future. Therefore, the existing legislation is a series of backdoors that can be exploited by employers to sustain the gig economy while benefiting employees. With a guaranteed minimum wage, these employees do not have room for an argument that could prevent them from being played by the employer. The same is also true for delivery workers who have been promoted to self-employed status in order to reduce the burden on the organisation’s budget. It can be stated that there are going to be far-reaching consequences related to how these employees are going to be paid by their respective employers.

When looking back at the UK-based laws covering the relationships between employees and employers, it should be crucial to point out the lack of employment watchdogs. The government should seek opportunities to deploy such forms of mediating the occurrence of exploitation and unfair treatment. The specific focus should be on the low-paid sector because even the basic workers’ rights are violated there. Further enhancements are required if the government expects to utilize watchdogs to protect employee rights and ensure that all businesses treat their staff members fairly. The minority groups from both employee and employer camps seem to disregard the need to avoid exploitation, so it should be crucial to pinpoint the biggest cases of modern slavery and prevent similar experiences in the future. Despite the challenges linked to the pandemic, it should be fundamental for the UK government to introduce watchdogs and see how the abuse of supply chains and employees could be stopped. The rights and obligations should be conveyed to all workers in a comprehensible manner in order to prevent employees from exploiting their employers as well.

Wojciech’s dismissal creates room for several instances of liability for the Royal Harrogate Conservatoire. The first potential issue that is going to follow the allegedly unfair treatment is the conciliation conference, where a Fair Work officer, Wojciech, and the Royal Harrogate Conservatoire will get involved in a semi-informal negotiation. Also, a hearing could be carried out for the two arguing parties, with the only differences being the presence of the Commissioner and a significantly higher cost of the procedure. The Commissioner is going to be responsible for making the decision to resolve the argument between Wojciech and the Royal Harrogate Conservatoire. Overall, the impact of these actions would go beyond any legal costs and contribute to the growth of a negative reputation for the Royal Harrogate Conservatoire. The court may consider this case a restriction of freedom of speech, as was decided in Epperson’s case. Arkansas. A teacher in Arkansas was threatened with dismissal for using books that say that humans are descended from lower animals. The utterance was banned in the early 20th century through active religious fervor. Although Wojciech claims he had nothing against the Conservatory, its policies also restrict the freedom of speech enacted in the Human Rights Act. Given that the ground for unfair treatment is rather stable, the organisation would have to endure an ongoing case where the unfair dismissal claim is not going to be attained quickly.

Another critical issue that has to be considered to be a form of liability for the Royal Harrogate Conservatoire is the fact that remaining employees would be rather likely to suffer from hopelessness and depressive episodes. After seeing their colleague being treated unfairly, they would expect the same attitude toward themselves. From an increase in sick leaves to the growing number of resignations, the Royal Harrogate Conservatoire would have to persevere a number of consequences of unfair treatment. It also shows that the dispute between Wojciech and the Royal Harrogate Conservatoire is a liability in itself because it will affect the costs of business affairs. Accordingly, an allegedly unfair dismissal is going to cause additional issues that will not be resolved quickly because other staff members of the Royal Harrogate Conservatoire are going to remain worried. Thus, it was required the administration to remain transparent while communicating with Wojciech, but the Royal Harrogate Conservatoire failed to consider the importance of looking into employment laws prior to forcing one of their employees to resign over a liked tweet on Twitter.

Overall, it has to be noted that the administration of the Royal Harrogate Conservatoire lacked objectivity and substantiality when communicating the need to resign Wojciech. Even though the remarks regarding the employee’s behavior were relevant, they did not reflect an actual violation of the current legislation or provide the management with a legitimate reason to terminate the relationship with Wojciech. The idea here is to adhere to the statutory reasons of conduct and advocate for fair treatment that would also be supported by relevant Parliamentary amendments. The specifics of the issue should be viewed through the prism of substantiality in order to help the administration of the Royal Harrogate Conservatoire counterbalance all the possible ways of exploiting the employment law as well. The range of reasonable responses to various employee behaviors should be broadened significantly to exclude the probability of any management unit being limited by the need to terminate an employee over trivial misconduct.

Based on the existing evidence, it can be concluded that the current whistle-blower protection is powerful enough to maintain the balance between an employer’s needs and the opinions displayed by the public. The current level of legal protection is comprehensive enough to help managers ensure that various strategies can be utilized to protect the employee who reported any given issue. According to the UK laws on whistle-blowing, there is a direct connection between the Employment Rights Act 1996 and its further amendments, including the Public Interest Disclosure Act deployed in 1998. The level of protection induced by the latter can be described as an adequate response to the fact that certain issues should be reported to the management since not all employees showcase ethical conduct at all times. Therefore, it is crucial to point out that the Public Interest Disclosure Act is the primary means of attaining protected disclosures. These give the right to employees to claim unfair dismissals if their whistle-blowing actions have ultimately led to them being fired from the organization.

It is also important to note that there can be whistle-blowing activities touching upon the events that occurred outside the UK. The core obligation of the government, in this case, is to force the given whistle-blower to provide a reasonable belief that would be considered a relevant failure. Adequate protection for the whistle-blower would mean the inability of a formal disclosure within any given environment. Irrespective of the further legal proceedings, the UK law provides organizations with enough instruments to consider proactive approaches to whistle-blowers and the consequences of their reports. The only condition to be considered when seeking protection for a whistle-blower is the need to adhere to the belief that the report can be approached honestly based on the given circumstances. Thus, it is vital to create an environment where disclosures can be treated as something usual, with no negative outcomes for the organization or employees transpiring over time.

The current level of protection has to be reviewed because there are certain types of disclosure that do not fall under the wing of legislation-induced protection. For example, one could reference the Official Secrets Act of 1989 and highlight the increasing role of legal professional privilege. The UK law only protects whistle-blower disclosures when the person reports the incident to an appropriate party. If there is a person that can be reasonably believed to remain responsible for the relevant failure at hand, the organization will have to take immediate action against the target of whistle-blowing. The process of obtaining protection for whistle-blowers who report to a person or an organization outside the recommendations made by the Secretary of State is slightly different. With additional conditions being respected, it will be easier for whistle-blowers and organizations to find common ground and reduce the occurrence of cases when a person is unlawfully dismissed or suffers any kind of detriment.

Another reason why the existing circumstances can be considered sufficient is that the UK law presupposes that there can be carried out an adequate employment tribunal. Knowing that unfair dismissal claims are subject to a three-month period of limitation, it should be relevant for the organization and the whistle-blower to resort to the Employment Act of 2002 and exercise all possible discretion. The further considerations are going to revolve around the gravity of the relevant failure, the possibility of re-offense, and the probability of breaching disclosure confidentiality. Thus, the UK law provides whistle-blowers and organisations with enough room to orchestrate compensation or reinstatement in the case of the claim of detriment being exceptionally detailed and well-founded. Unfair dismissal is covered by the Public Interest Disclosure Act to an extent where all whistle-blowers can be protected and subject to compensations.

Reference List

Davidov G, ‘Non-Waivability In Labour Law’ (2020) 40 Oxford Journal of Legal Studies.

Freyens B, and Gong X, ‘Judicial Arbitration of Unfair Dismissal Cases: The Role of Peer Effects’ (2020) 64 International Review of Law and Economics.

Kotera Y, Green P, and Sheffield D, ‘Work-Life Balance of UK Construction Workers: Relationship with Mental Health’ (2019) 38 Construction Management and Economics.

Lomas D, ‘Party Politics and Intelligence: The Labour Party, British Intelligence and Oversight, 1979-1994’ (2021) 36 Intelligence and National Security.

Mangan D, ‘Covid-19 And Labour Law in the United Kingdom’ (2020) 11 European Labour Law Journal.

McKay L, ‘Does Constituency Focus Improve Attitudes to MPs? A Test for the UK’ (2020) 26 The Journal of Legislative Studies.

Onyango G, ‘Whistleblower Protection in Developing Countries: A Review of Challenges and Prospects’ [2021] SSRN Electronic Journal.

Quayle A, ‘Whistleblowing and Accounting for the Public Interest: A Call for New Directions’ (2021) 34 Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal.

Smith H, ‘The ‘Indie Unions’ and the UK Labour Movement: Towards a Community of Practice’ [2021] Economic and Industrial Democracy.

William L, and Vandekerckhove W, ‘Fairly and Justly? Are Employment Tribunals Able to Even Out Whistleblowing Power Imbalances?’ [2021] Journal of Business Ethics.

Table of Cases

Epperson v. Arkansas [1968] 393 US 97

Table of Legislation

Employment Rights Act 1996, 98

Human Rights Act 1998

The term “Middle Ages” describes the period after the fall of Rome in 476 CE and the Renaissance era in the 14th century (History.com, 2010). According to Spark Notes (n.d), the “Middle Ages” or the “Medieval period” is mistakenly recognized as insignificant between two epochs. This period is characterized by the power revolution as Catholic Church became extremely significant and authoritative. Moreover, the rise of Islam in the Middle East led to considerable political and economic transformations (History.com, 2010). The Middle Ages commonly known as “dark times” were not so dark and led to important technological and economic advances.

The most powerful figure in medieval Europe was the Pope as direct representative of Catholic Church. Monarchs and leaders could obtain support, power, and protection from the alliance with the Church. The Church was the main economic and social driving force, impacting the politics of different countries (History Learning Site, 2010). For example, it collected “tithe” from the ordinary population and set the rules and laws based on the Bible and their interests. Moreover, the Church obtained the power to assign and reject candidates for kings or queens’ positions. It interrupted inner and outer politics and connections of European countries and had manipulative power over most parts of the ordinary European population such as peasants.

The plague pandemic that happened in 1347-1350 probably was the most destructive event at that time. The bubonic plague, or “Black Death,” killed more than 20 million people in Europe that was 30 percent of all population (History.com, 2020). Increased migration in cities and high density of population widespread this disease extremely fast. According to History.com (2020), the diseases started at the Sicilian port of Messina and covered the whole of Europe. The plague had a destructive effect on the economics and living conditions of European citizens as killed cows, pigs, goats, and sheep. During this time, Europeans also experienced workforce scarcity that led to famine and the spread of other diseases.

Despite the romantic representation of this epoch in movies and other types of media, I wish I never could experience this period in person. This decision is mainly motivated by the fact that as a modern person with access to pure water, electricity, and Internet, I would simply not survive in such harsh conditions. Poor hygiene, constant wars, diseases and the dichotomy of the Church including inquisitions do not add color to this period.

References

History.com. (2010). Middle Ages. Web.

History.com. (2020). Black Death. Web.

Medieval lives – The Medieval Church. History Learning Site. (2015). Web.

SparkNotes. (n.d.). Early Middle Ages (475-1000). SparkNotes. Web.

In his talk on a possible virus outbreak in the nearest future, Bill Gates addresses a range of urgent issues of global healthcare. In particular, Gates emphasizes the significance of preparedness for a potential epidemic in the years to come.

The speaker highlights the reasons for the global ill-preparedness for pandemics. Firstly, the global community has “invested a huge amount in nuclear deterrence,” whereas “a system to stop an epidemic” obtains very little funding (TED Talks Subtitles, 2017, 01:12). Further, the healthcare system to arrest epidemics is virtually underdeveloped. For instance, during the Ebola epidemics, there were no sufficient human resources. Indeed, healthcare lacked epidemiologists to explore and immediately report the extent of the problem, and “a medical team ready to go” and tackle the virus (TED Talks Subtitles, 2017, 02:07). In much the same way, the coronavirus outbreak demonstrates limited access to information and a lack of immediate actions.

There is a range of steps to combat a possible pandemic in the future. First of all, global healthcare must strongly rely on modern technologies, such as cellphones, satellite maps, and the like, to trace and immediately report a pandemic spread. Moreover, the advances in medical and biological research must focus on innovative ways for diagnostics, treatment, and vaccination. Yet another essential step in achieving global preparedness is a restructuring of the healthcare system following the military pattern.

Hence, the healthcare system should be staffed in the same manner as the army is. Bill Gates provides an example that the military has “full time waiting to go,” “reserves that can scale up to large numbers,” and “a mobile unit that can deploy very rapidly” (TED Talks Subtitles, 2017, 05:46–05:55). In other words, a global healthcare team must enroll a broad spectrum of epidemiologists and physicians with relevant training and skills. Besides, healthcare activities must follow the example of the military in terms of constant practice and simulations, thus ensuring a fast response.

Thus, Bill Gates effectively brings public attention to the problem of impending pandemics and the global lack of readiness. The abovementioned tools for combating epidemics are available nowadays, and the suggested ways to get prepared are quite feasible. Therefore, the coordinated efforts of the world community constitute the only prerequisite for ensuring preparedness for potential epidemics in the future.

Reference

TED Talks Subtitles. (2017). Bill Gates: The next outbreak? We’re not ready. Youtube. Web.

Introduction

Crisis Management which was limited at the corporate level has now been extended to the National and International level, after the outburst of terrorist attacks in the US, UK, and India and also the spread of bird flu and other related epidemics throughout the world. The advancement in information technology has brought nations together and one nation alone cannot handle these disasters independently. Management experts have drawn up different plans of crisis management to meet this new environment. We will examine the general aspects of traditional crisis management and how Pandemic crisis management is different from traditional crisis management and also how each Pandemic is planned differently.

How does Crisis Management work in an organization?

Corporate level crisis, Site related crisis, Product related crisis, and People related crisis are the chief areas of concern for the Top Management. Corporate level crises include an attack on brand, attack on management, competitor allegation, and political interference. Site-related crisis includes industrial accidents, production and distribution problems, labor disputes, etc. Product-related crisis failure of product quality, accidental contamination. People related crisis includes a threat to an employee, accidents, corruption, etc.

Safety of the employees and transparent, fast communication are the guiding principles for any crisis management philosophy. There will be a crisis management team in any organization that will analyze the problem, select a suitable Task Force, nominate a coordinator, induct experts and chart out an action plan which is reviewed on an hourly basis. Usually, the CMT monitors the implementation by the Task Force. The CMT coordinator will be the first point of contact. The induction of experts and specialists will depend on the type of crisis. If the crisis is to be managed at the country level, CMT has to frame new strategies, choose the most appropriate course of action and provide instruction within the market. According to Protiviti, Independent Risk Consulting, the functions of CMT are illustrated below. (Vael, 2007).

The activities of CMT is distributed among the following key personnel:

1. CMT Leader is ultimately responsible for all major decisions, agree on key messages, brief industry associates and empower and support CMT coordinators.
2. CMT co- coordinator manages, collates, analyses, and segregates information that can be passed on to the public and which should not be passed on to the public.
3. A CMT communication manager is responsible for promptness, accuracy, and consistency of communication and has a liaison with the other countries and within the country.
4. CMT specialist and adviser support and advises on possible implications and will be responsible to get the updated data. According to the situation, different types of advisers and specialists will be inducted into the team.

How Pandemic crisis management is different?

Pandemic is an epidemic flu transmitted from birds to human beings and from human beings to human beings. During 2007 most parts of Asia and Europe were affected by Pandemic influenza. The mortality rate is as high as 50 %, the absenteeism in industry and trade called for a different strategy to cope with the situation. The parameters were not within the control of the organization and hence a normal CMT could not cope with the situation. Communications with different government departments and international agencies have to be carried out with speed and accuracy. Employees have to be warned against rumors and given proper counseling in health care. “Most websites (CDC, WHO, others) say that our greatest defense will be quarantined. The expectation is that geographical areas will be quarantined, perhaps repeatedly, and the eruptions of cases move from region to region and cycle back again. Quarantines will likely be enforced for between four and ten weeks. Students will be home and schools will be closed for a time that will probably not be known at the beginning of the quarantine.

We have nothing to go on to prepare in terms of past experience. If this once becomes human-to-human transmissible, it will move throughout the world remarkably fast because of our mobile lives and how air travel has become so commonplace.” (Avian bird flu Pandemic).

To minimize the impact of pandemic Teed consultancy has suggested a 20 point action plan:

1. We should plan for a reduction of 50 % workforce for a period of 12 – 15 weeks.
2. The employee should be relocated to places where the infection is minimum.
3. The shop should be open for the minimum time possible.
4. Staff shortage in the CMT should be planned.
5. A pandemic operating regime should take off immediately when the pandemic strikes.
6. When the government declares the outburst of the pandemic or when staff strength is reduced below a normal level, the operating regime should take off.
7. Critical processes of the company should be sustained during the pandemic regime.
8. Critical personnel required during the pandemic regime should be identified.
9. Cross-training of the employee should be planned ahead.
10. Staff, customers and other interested parties should be communicated company’s contingency plan during the pandemic outburst.
11. The government’s guidelines on quarantine, staff welfare, counseling in case of bereavement should be strictly followed.
12. HR policies on absenteeism, sick leave, wages, etc. should be revised in tune with the new situation.
13. The event should be monitored and travel restricted.
14. Identify persons who can work from home or from a different location.
15. Increase customer usage should be encouraged to utilize IT and telecom services.
16. Head office meetings can be replaced by video – conferencing.
17. Supplies should be checked for infection and sufficient quantity should be made available.
18. Stakeholders should be informed about the contingency plan.
19. Travel restrictions on similar lines affected by neighboring countries can be implemented.
20. Periodical review and updating are necessary at every stage.

Different phases of Pandemic Influenza are shown below:

Case study- European Medicine Agency (EMEA):

1. Introduction: EMEA crisis plan is an action plan which will swing into action when the spread of the epidemic is announced. This crisis plan is evaluated and tested with simulation.
2. Principles of the Crisis Management Plan: The primary objective of the plan is to implement EMEA’s policies with regard to the spread of epidemics. It will communicate with all other voluntary nongovernment and government agencies engaged in similar work of providing influenza pandemic vaccines and other medical products. WHO will identify the outburst of the epidemic and this should be communicated to EMEA through a commission (DG Sanco). A management procedure is presented to show how EMEA’s action plan will trigger off when the arrival of epidemics is announced. The public will be aware of the outburst simultaneously along with DG Sanco and other states. A list of crisis contact points is prepared.
3. Objectives of the EMEA Pandemic Influenza Crisis Plan:

Handling of crisis situation:

1. Initiate the action plan
2. Manage and coordinate the review of dossiers for pandemic influenza vaccine.
3. Manage and coordinate the post-authorization follow-up of centrally authorized antiviral and vaccines.

Coordination of the various EMEA activities:

1. Further EMEA activities will start as soon as the outburst of the epidemic is announced.
2. The business community decisions are taken on a timely basis.
3. Crisis Management Structure: Different structures of the task force are established to deal with situations outside the office hours during weekends and holidays etc. CHMP expert group (Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use) will be added to the task force depending upon the type of the epidemic. A specific role for the management is specified during the onset of the pandemic.
4. Policy and strategy of EMEA: “Effective communications will be crucial in the event of an influenza pandemic. This will require timely and effective co-ordinate responses from each of the Agency’s European partners, namely the European Commission, ECDC and the EU Member States, healthcare providers, the media and the public in general.” (EMEA Pandemic Influenza Crisis Management Plan for the Evaluation and Maintenance of Pandemic Influenza Vaccines and Antivirals, 2006).

How different pandemics are planned differently?

The strategy for bird flue will be different from that for a natural disaster or terrorist attack. Homeland security officials suggest a different action plan for a safeguarding chemical factory in case of a terrorist attack. “The exercise begins with a simulation titled Green Scorpion, in which terrorists gain access to a large chemical processing facility. Emergency teams will implement response strategies that are designed to stop the terrorists, free hostages, and prevent or mitigate damage to the facility and surrounding area. In addition, the exercise will also look at how the incident might be complicated by the simultaneous outbreak of a pandemic. Providing a multi-hazard scenario will demonstrate why public and private organizations need a comprehensive emergency response strategy and the latest integrated information management tools.” (Terrorism Attack and Pandemic Exercise at ESS EXPO.08 Spotlights Strategies and Tools to Safeguard U.S. Chemical Plants, 2008).

For similar pandemic influenza if it occurs after a gap of a few years it will require a different strategy than that was followed in the previous case. The new strategy will take care of the output of the old strategy by way of feedback, remedial measures for overcoming obstacles that came in the way of the previous strategy updating the information at the current level. This will be an opportunity to correct our previous shortcomings.

Conclusion

Pandemic crisis management is different from normal crisis management due to the presence of different international agencies with different work cultures and communication abilities. In case of a pandemic crisis, the coordination process will be more complicated than that of normal crisis management. In spite of these difficulties, International communities have risen above national barriers to tackle the pandemic crisis as this cannot be limited to one region or country and coordination of all people across the globe is necessary to save humanity. The efforts of WHO in this regard are exemplary. The speed of communication is as important as communication itself. In case of national disasters, budgetary restrictions should not be a criterion as we are dealing with human beings and not with mere materials.

“By nature, crises are neither expected nor pleasant. As organizations continue to face a growing number of crises, they are realizing the costly, far-reaching impacts of either not being prepared or not having the requisite capabilities readily deployed when emergency situations occur.” (Crisis Management Services).

References

Vael, Marc. (2007). Crisis, Disaster, Catastrophe & the Effects of Pandemic, Protiviti. Web.

Avian Bird Flu Pandemic, Crisis Management Institute. Web.

Emea Pandemic Influenza Crisis Management Plan for the Evaluation and Maintenance of Pandemic Influenza Vaccines and Antivirals, (2006). Emea: European Medicines Agency. Web.

Terrorism Attack and Pandemic Exercise at ESS EXPO.08 Spotlights Strategies and Tools to Safeguard U.S. Chemical Plants, (2008). Yahoo. Web.

Crisis Management Services, IBM. Web.

Technological progress shapes the world to people’s needs, but it does come with several adverse effects. The global network allows people to travel virtually to any part of the planet in a matter of hours. However, it also created a perfect environment for transmitting infections. A pandemic spreads rapidly through human networks, quickly progressing in high-density populations through touched surfaces, via airborne means, or personal contacts. The virus gets inside through mucous membranes or damaged skin.

Due to the lack of herd immunity, a newly emerging virus has free reign over unprepared masses. Insufficient vaccination of citizens, as well as poor hygiene, speed this process up multiple times (Taylor, 2019). Greater international travel allows the virus to appear in any city on Earth significantly faster and less predictable than ever before. Asymptomatic carriers who travel internationally usually serve as the initial source of pandemics. However, timely response and mass warnings are now also easier to conduct.

Identification and containment of a potential pandemic could prove troublesome in viruses with longer incubation periods with no symptoms. While the World Health Organization members are required to meet International Health Regulations, not all countries succeeded in doing so (Madhav et al., 2017). It is also troublesome for some governments to provide adequate information about the disease in order to properly make citizens ready.

Lack of preparedness in geographic regions with high spark risks due to their lag in health care advancements could increase the rate of spread (Madhav et al., 2017). This factor, combined with the fact that the latest viruses emerge from animal sources, is highly affected by poor sanitation in low- and middle-income countries. These countries are expected to be hit harder than high-income countries and have higher mortality rates.

A pandemic is usually associated with short financial shocks but might lead to a long-term stagnation in global economic growth (Madhav et al., 2017). Despite the ability to predict them, these issues are unavoidable at the moment, as countries put more resources into health infrastructures to increase their capacity. Poorer countries, which are unable to provide financial support and do not have a fully modernized health care system, will suffer the most. It is important to provide said countries with surge capacity by delivering it via foreign aid providers (Madhav et al., 2017). A pandemic will not be stopped if the disease continues to afflict a major portion of the world population. Aside from medical help, increasing social awareness could also prove useful in mitigating the effects of pandemics.

Promoting personal responsibility alone could alleviate the situation to a manageable state. Studies by Ferguson et al. (2020) have shown that social distancing “might reduce peak healthcare demand by 2/3 and deaths by half” (p. 1). The reason behind this preventative measure is that it reduces the number of cases at any given time to lessen the strain on healthcare facilities, although it does not reduce the total number of deaths. Ferguson et al. report that “80% of [virus] transmission occurred in the household” (p. 15). This percentage indicates that proper hygiene is one of the key prevention techniques available to the public.

I think that people should take several actions to prevent the spread by themselves, for example, go into self-isolation or at least minimize their in-person communications. From my observations, many popular public figures are promoting proper behavior during the pandemic. In my opinion, conducting this information through non-governmental sources to which people trust gives the opportunity to reach bigger masses.

A pandemic brings with it a long list of adverse side effects to society. To properly contain a virus, it might be required to place an entire nation under quarantine. As people are unable to fulfill their roles in society, problems will quickly accumulate into a global crisis. Manufacturing rates drop and gross domestic product values fall with them, bank assets are reduced. This hit to economics is further worsened by a panic that usually accompanies pandemics. Rumors spread misinformation, promote prejudice, and create chaos (Taylor, 2019). Immense media attention provides inconsistent evidence and is often conveyed in an overdramatic and sensational tone (Taylor, 2019).

A pandemic could serve as a divider between different socio-economic layers. Poor citizens get infected easier in many countries, primarily due to overcrowding, poor sanitation, lacking hygiene, and shortage of basic health care products. In turn, people with greater economic opportunities have better access to medical care and have the ability to easily flee from infected areas (Taylor, 2019). Fear-stricken citizens create unnecessary panic and put an additional strain on the governmental organizations, impeding its’ attempts to fight off the infection.

As could be seen from these studies, humanity has a vast knowledge of pandemics, their progression has been thoroughly studied during past outbreaks, and the methods of successfully stopping them were developed. Although more recent sources put more stress on social factors of the issue, they all say that highlighting the importance of pandemics slows down the disease and leads to a less painful resolve. Despite the discussed facts, humanity struggles to deal with the growing problem in the face of COVID-19.

This example should serve as a warning to all nations, ushering them to advance the disease control and prevention programs, as well as educate their citizens about proper behavior during pandemics. Viruses will continue to emerge, and humanity made their transmission easier than ever, but with technologies and research, the damage they do could be prevented.

References

Ferguson, N.M., Laydon, D., Nedjati-Gelani, G., Imai, N., Ainslie, K., Baguelin, M., Bhatia, S., Boonyasiri, A., Cucunbá, Z., Cuomo-Dannenburg, G., Dinghe, A., Dorigatti, I., Fu, H., Gaythorpe, K., Green, W., Hamlet, A., Hinsley, W., Okell, L.C., Elsand, S.,… Ghani, A.C. (2020) Impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to reduce COVID-19 mortality and healthcare demand. Imperial College London. Web.

Madhav, N., Oppenheim, B., Gallivan, M., Mulembakani, P. Rubin, E., & Wolfe, N. (2017). Pandemics: Risks, impacts, and mitigation. In D.T. Jamison et al. (Eds.), Disease control priorities: Improving health and reducing poverty (3rd ed.). The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank.

Taylor, S. (2019). The psychology of pandemics: Preparing for the next global outbreak of infectious disease. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

An unexpected outbreak of the COVID-19 led to a global pandemic, putting millions of people around the world at risk of contamination. Regardless of the level of economic development, most states affected faced challenges in accommodating the needs of patients suffering from the virus due to the limited capacity and low preparedness of their healthcare system. In an effort to flatten the curve, Sweden avoided severe quarantine measures while US imposed strict regulations on traveling, working, and studying in public places.

Sweden’s way of handling the COVID-19 pandemic is controversial and raises concerns of the international community. Since the outbreak of the virus and up till the day this essay is submitted, Sweden did not put its residents on lock-down (Brabant). Despite the condemn of the global leaders and apprehension of the World Health Organization, the number of cases in the country rounded at 11, 000, according to “COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic.” Young individuals with no chronic health conditions are allowed to visit public places and work from their offices (Brabant). Kindergartens, schools, and restaurants remain open as local authorities rely on the national social responsibility as the main tool of combatting the virus (Brabant). However, what is more surprising is that the Nordic state did not close borders, allowing its residents to enter and exit the country as needed.

Though unusual, Swedish strategy is built based on the recommendations of the scientists rather than political decisions. In an effort to protect the vulnerable population, Swedish government strives to expose healthy people to the virus, so that they can develop antibodies, strengthening their immune system (Brabant). While the entire world is on quarantine, Swedish market is open for business, trade, and investments. The question whether such exclusive decision turns to be effective in the long-term run is yet to be answered.

Unlike Sweden, US imposed much higher restrictions to flatten the curve and prevent the virus from spreading locally. The country banned entry for all Chinese citizens when the pandemic started in China, followed by 30-day prohibition for entry for the residents of Schengen area with a mere exception for UK (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). The government announced national quarantine when the number of cases began growing in the US, allowing states to make individual alternations based on the situational condition (CDC). In contrast to Scandinavians, Americans are on a month-long lock-down with businesses temporarily closing down or transitioning to the new remote format of work.

All public places, including educational institutions, recreational centers, and restaurants, are closed until further notice. Grocery shops and pharmacies remain open to meet the immediate needs of American residents (CDC). Though encouraged by the government and promoted by the healthcare providers, social distancing is still heavily overlooked by common people. As the number of cases already exceeded half a million cases, according to “COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic,” public concern for the future of the nation’s physical, emotional, and financial wellness raises.

In conclusion, Sweden chose a controversial strategy, using minimum restrictions and avoiding standard quarantine measures enforced worldwide. Unlike the Nordic country, US put strict bans on social gatherings, limiting usual operation of businesses, schools, and workplaces. For now, it is too early to evaluate the effectiveness of the methods utilized by each of the country as the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to grow.

Works Cited

Brabant, Malcolm. “How Sweden and Denmark Represent Opposite Scandinavian COVID-19 Responses.” PBS, 2020. Web.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Coronavirus (COVID-19). CDC, 2020. Web.

“COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic.”Worldometer, 2020. Web.

The COVID-19 pandemic has already proved that it has considerable influence on the contemporary world. It has brought unpredictable changes to the lives of people all over the globe by affecting their health, travel and life plans, and daily routine. However, individuals’ everyday life is not the only sphere that has been profoundly impacted by the novel virus. Various researches have already concluded that the negative consequences brought by the coronavirus affect essential industries, such as tourism, healthcare, and the economy. For instance, there exists a risk of governments potentially restricting access to pandemic supplies, eventually bringing severe problems to international business. Therefore, this paper will prove that it is vital for the countries to organize their efforts and ensure that pandemic supplies are distributed all over the world.

Several countries are currently trying to nationalize the pandemic supplies without an understanding of what consequences it will bring to their relationships with other states. For instance, as mentioned by Farrell and Newman (2020), a Chinese newspaper published an article claiming that “the development of vaccine is a battle that China cannot afford to lose” (para. 1). The article meant that China cannot rely on the United States and Europe and will not provide access to the vaccine (Farrell & Newman, 2020). In addition, the USA was not interested in sharing their vaccine. The administration of Trump wanted to ensure sole access to the pandemic supplies without sharing them with other governments (Farrell & Newman, 2020). However, countries should realize that such protectionism can prolong the pandemic making it harder for the states to recover from a long period of uncertainty. Besides, the restriction of foreign access to pandemic supplies will harden the coordination of effective international response to the pandemic. Trust between the states will be broken, resulting in potential communication issues in the future.

In addition to worsening trust between the countries, a nationalization of vital pandemic resources will have an adverse effect on global business. Even though enterprises, not engaged in the healthcare system, to not pay attention to global healthcare politics, they need to understand what adverse consequences the restriction on the use of the vaccine will bring. Farrell and Newman (2020) concluded that “the coronavirus is not just hitting demand and supply and sending the world into a recession” (para. 2) The pandemic is also reorganizing the relationship between markets and states (Farrell & Newman, 2020). In case governments continue to restrict access to vaccines for foreign nations, the business will continue to suffer. A constant mistrust between the countries can potentially break global cooperation in fighting the virus, maintaining the severe economic disruption, and stopping the operations of global supply chains.

That is why those industries involved in the production and distribution of medical supplies should work as actively as the ones that are currently developing possible remedies for the cure and prevention of coronavirus. If an effective vaccine is developed quickly, it will not only protect people against the infection and reduce the transmission of the virus but also benefit the global business. Potentially restricting foreign access to pandemic supplies will negatively influence the relationships between counties and harm international trade. Consequently, the following paper proved that governments need to put much effort into cooperating for a successful outcome of the pandemic situation.

Reference

Farrell, H., & Newman, A. (2020). Will governments restrict foreign access to pandemic supplies?Harvard Business Review. Web.