Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

COVID-19 is reported to spread via airborne transmission. Engineering controls that can target airborne transmission may be a useful overall strategy to limit infection risk indoors. Air monitoring systems can detect conditions amenable to spreading diseases such as COVID-19. Consider installing air monitors to:

• Assess information on CO2, dust, volatile organic compounds, temperature, humidity, and other information on the environment to warn users when there is increased risk of spreading respiratory infections
• Use air quality information to make informed decisions about safe use of buildings and facilities, and to communicate the impacts of environmental factors on human health

The resilience of construction and infrastructure is highly dependent on reliable, flexible and sustainable supply chains. Learning from the impacts of COVID-19 has identified three key phases for building supply chain resilience. Consider how to:

Secure the supply chain - immediate steps

• Rapidly assess levels of inventory and resource capacity against immediate/emerging demand
• Analyse a range of tactical scenarios and secure essential resources needed to maintain operations
• Evaluate existing relevant contract clauses such as those covering insurances and payment

Recover the supply chain - steps to be taken next

• Refresh business continuity management plans e.g. tested home working, wellbeing protocols, emergency command/control structures

Prepare the supply chain for a post COVID-19 world

• Embed resilience e.g. Has risk increased? Is the supply chain intact?
• Build resilience through
  • keeping redundancy (e.g. increasing stocks, spare capacity, supply competition);
  • creating resistance (e.g. automation);
  • improving recovery (e.g. rapid response protocols)
• Map strategic supply chains to identify possible points of failure in future shocks e.g. an emergency or second wave
• Implement 'smart' forecasting, analytics, and cloud-based systems that provide advanced prediction and indicate disruption

As countries begin to open their border to international travel, there is much to consider, not least the information provided to travellers before they leave your country, as they travel, and as they enter your country.

Information provided to travellers before they leave their country is key, so travellers can prepare themselves to travel to an overseas destination with the right supplies and knowing the expected behaviours. This is especially important during COVID-19 where countries have differing regulations regarding social distancing, travel within the country, and fines. Consider providing a government-issued ‘safer travel information sheet’[1] and advising travellers to download it before they leave the country. The information sheet could cover:

• Travel advisory for the country they are to visit
• Behaviours and supplies needed for COVID safe travel and at the destination e.g. face masks
• How to travel safely on all legs of the trip (from home to final destination) e.g. not arriving too early at departure points, ticketing, parking
• Expectations for safe travel practices such as social distancing, required face coverings and when/how to wear masks
• Tips for travelling using all types of transport e.g. cars, aircraft, ferries
• Exemptions for people e.g. who does not need to wear a face covering
• Where to find more information, key contacts and their contact information

The travel industry has a central role in advising travellers of travel-related and destination-specific COVID-19 information. The travel industry can provide advice to:[2], [3]

• Prepare travellers for practical departure and arrival procedures e.g. temperature sensors, health declaration forms
• Practice COVID-19 behaviours whilst travelling e.g. mask wearing, personal interactions, expectations on children and infirm
• Provide up to date information to travellers on the COVID-19 situation in the arrival country and how to access current information during their stay
• Identify what travellers should do if they suspect they have symptoms during their stay and before they travel home
• Inform travellers of mandatory acts on arrival, such as registering or downloading a mandated track and trace phone app
• Educate travellers on the local expectation for behaving safely in the country and local means of enforcement
• Detail what travellers should do on arrival e.g. quarantine, self-isolation, in the case of a local lockdown
• Where to find more information, key contacts and their contact information
• Penalties for non-compliance with local requirements for COVID-19

When travellers land in a different country, or even return to their home country, they may not have updated information or knowledge about COVID-19 transmission, or the local expectations or regulations put in place to encourage safe behaviours. Instead travellers may have COVID-19 practices that do not align with the expectations of the country they are in, so need information to make adjustments so they can live by the county’s current protocols and legislation.[4] So that travellers arriving into your country are able to act according to local advice, consider how to update travellers on practices they should follow, covering[5], [6], [7]:

• Major local developments on the virus
• The impact of those developments on new behaviours, expectations, curfews, etc.
• Information on the sorts of services that are available, including holiday-related and travel
• Information on regulations, behaviours, practices and expectations e.g. quarantine, self-isolation, track and trace procedures
• Information on residence permits and visas
• Information on onward travel, transiting through the country and returning home
• Where to find more information, key contacts and their contact information

Appropriate channels should be considered to share this information with travellers e.g. travel providers, travel infrastructure providers, hotels.

References:

[1] https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-travel-guidance-for-passengers#safer-travel-information-sheet

[2] https://www.airfrance.co.uk/GB/en/common/page_flottante/information/faq-coronavirus.htm

[3] https://travelupdates.abudhabiairport.ae/home

[5] https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/einreiseundaufenthalt/coronavirus

[6] https://www.government.nl/topics/coronavirus-covid-19/tourism-in-the-netherlands

[7] https://www.krisinformation.se/en/hazards-and-risks/disasters-and-incidents/2020/official-information-on-the-new-coronavirus/visiting-sweden-during-the-covid-19-pandemic