Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

Wastewater-based epidemiology groups in Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the USA have already reported detecting traces of COVID-19 in wastewater. Although COVID-19 is not known to infect humans through sewage or wastewater, similar diseases can, and so monitoring the behaviour of COVID-19 in these environments is important. Consider integrating sewer surveillance and wastewater inspections into systems for COVID-19 monitoring:

• Develop a 'dashboard' of data to assess the correlations between all collated COVD-19-related indicators as seen in the Netherlands
• Provide information on potential transmission pathways and improve the early warning of new outbreaks by understanding the relationships between: wastewater analysis, the number registered infected people, and societal or behavioural traits

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenging time for everyone, especially in trying to adjust to new routines and living and working environments. This may be particularly true for children with autism and their parents, as children with autism have trouble adjusting to, coping with, and understanding change. To help with this, help parents to explain the current situation in clear and simple ways and can help children with autism to adjust to the 'new normal'. One way of doing this is to provide parents with access to materials that frame COVID-19 as a germ that can make people sick, so it is important to stay away from others and not touch things.

Advise parents to reiterate important rules to children with autism is also important to help them cope, such as:

• Washing hands well and often (for at least 20 seconds)
• Not touching their nose, mouth, and eyes
• Keeping at least 6 feet away from other people
• Wearing a cloth face covering or face mask in public places

Face coverings may be difficult for autistic children, some parents have had successes in attaching the ear loops on masks to their child's favourite hat with buttons to reduce sensitivity. Make authorities (such as transport providers, Police) aware of "Facemask Exemption Cards" that have been produced by organisations for parents to print out for those who cannot wear a mask. Local government can support parents of children with autism by working with respected specialist organisations to advise parents e.g. one encouraging mask wearing

• Demonstrate using the face mask on a preferred object or person, such as a stuffed animal, a doll, or a family member
• Allow the person to choose among different types of fabric face masks to find one that is most comfortable
• Start by practicing wearing the face mask for short durations of time, allowing for breaks when needed
• Plan initial outings in low-demand environments that are quiet and calm, so that the individual can experience success wearing the face mask
• Use a printed photo or digital photo of the individual wearing a face mask as a visual cue to wear the mask before outings

In addition to these changes, losing the daily routine that going school provides adds an additional layer of complexity for children with autism, and outs them at risk of not receiving the social care and support they require. While, some children may have found home schooling difficult, the time spent away from school may have resulted in the development of a new routine at home where they feel safe. As such, returning to school may cause anxiety and distress. Local government should inform teachers that some ways of reducing these anxieties include:

• Providing a visit to the school before it reopens if possible, to help children familiarise themselves with their environment and staff again
• Encouraging homes to introduce changes that are made in school at home e.g. explain social distancing measures, ask for photos of new classroom layouts to show children
• Asking parents for information about your child during COVID-19 so they have an understanding of their needs and how these may have changed due to COVID-19 restrictions

COVID-19 has also been a challenging time for parents of children with autism. One parent in the UK stated that support for them and their child had been reduced to occasional phone calls and they felt like they had been "left to struggle alone". They also stated that they were repeating the same or similar activities with their child from before lockdown and that it felt like their child's development had stalled. They stated that increased resources from their child's support worker such as a timetable of activities and development would have helped and made the experience of self-isolation and lockdown "less distressing".

Providing specialised phone lines and centralised hubs with resources for parents is vital, to ensure their well-being and that of their children, via reliable information and support. Local government can help employers to realise that parents also need to find ways to balance work and childcare responsibilities this can include:

• Arrange to work from home to ensure supervision, or childcare sharing arrangements with friends and family
• Prepare information about the child's support needs and successful learning and behaviour strategies for anyone caring for the child
• Develop an emergency contact list, and discuss it with friends and family. Include names and numbers of your personal autism support network, as well as medical providers
• Contact local organizations who may be able to offer support.
• Look through the child's medical records or evaluations related to autism as these may have recommendations on areas to focus on and can help you with making learning plans while schools are closed
• Reach out to others to maintain social support for the whole family e.g. social media, social media groups for autistic people and their families, and other virtual support groups that provide online resources for finding empathy and ideas while self-isolating or in lockdown

To read this case study in its original format (including references) follow the source link below to TMB Issue 16 (p.19-20).

During COVID-19 many training facilities that equip staff with specialist skills have been unable to work effectively so accreditation has not been possible. Furthermore, medical fitness for work certificates may have expired and not been renewed due to the pressures on the healthcare system. Across many sectors (e.g. emergency services, construction, healthcare), these effects could have consequences for the availability of staff who have the required skills/training and are permitted to work; a problem accentuated by the departure of skilled staff during the crisis. Consider:

• How your workforce's skills profile has changed as a result of the effects of COVID-19 e.g.:
  • training centres stopping training new recruits, meaning there is a lack of new staff in the recruitment pipeline
  • expiration of staff's specialist qualifications/registration, meaning they are not permitted/qualified to deliver usual activities
  • granting of medical eligibility to work during the crisis, and impacts on staff ability to work
  • staff being made unemployed or retiring during the crisis
  • staff who have contracted COVID-19 and who are unable to return to normal duties
• Putting temporary waivers in place to enable workers to continue despite their skills expiring
• How staff whose qualifications have expired during COVID-19 can be re-accredited
• How to ensure staff are medically fit to work
• How to address and overcome the immediate impacts of a shortage of accredited staff
• How to mitigate the multi-year impacts on your sector from COVID-19's disruption to skills, training and staff loss

Reference: Fire Department, Germany

Heat waves pose a particular risk to those already vulnerable to COVID-19 including the elderly (>65 years), and those with pre-existing health conditions (e.g. cardiovascular, pulmonary, kidney disease), and essential workers. COVID-19 and heat can put strains on health, and on surge capacity plans for hospitals to deal with concurrent risks. Additionally, people may expose themselves to other risks such as limiting social distancing measures to check in on older neighbours. Consider how to:

• Collaborate with formal and informal social service systems to identify and reach vulnerable individuals with information and support to protect them
• Increase the use of telephone outreach programmes for daily check-ins with the most vulnerable
• Increase enrolment of vulnerable people into check-ins and resources to run the system
• Review plans for in-home safety checks. Ensure the health and safety of staff, volunteers and the people they visit through training and the provision of PPE
• Identify high-risk communities by reviewing where local heat islands occur, and where this may overlap with high incidence or risk of COVID-19
• Assist efforts to review and expand social safety net programmes to support at-home cooling strategies for the most vulnerable e.g. utilise expanding energy subsidies to ensure households can afford home cooling measures

Further information on how to carry out public outreach on heatwaves during the COVID-19 pandemic can be found here: http://climatecentre.org/downloads/files/HWG%20appendix%20Extreme%20Heat%20during%20the%20COVID-19%20pandemic.pdf

This lesson was contributed to by a Chief Resilience Officer in Colombia during project data collection.

Every organisation has been affected by COVID-19 which has had impacts on operations, staff, suppliers, customers or other parts of its activities. Some organisations have temporarily stopped delivering certain activities or have achieved them through other means. This has led organisations to consider the value-added of those activities and evaluate certain activities that may no longer be necessary. To identify activities that can be stopped, consider:

• What activities were changed in response to the effects of COVID-19
• What has been learned about the actual value those activities were delivering, compared to the expected value
• How to stop or replace activities that were not delivering the expected value

In addition, consider:

• How to identify other activities that were not stopped during COVID-19 but that are not delivering the expected value so could be stopped
• How to measure the saving from stopping the activity
• What to do with the saved resource from stopping the activity e.g. reduce capacity or redeploy that capacity
• How other aspects of the organisation should change to support the stopping of activities (e.g. changing physical spaces, policies, processes, priorities, roles)

Effective local climate leadership is central in tackling local climate disasters such as floods, forest fires and extreme heatwaves. Local governments are adept at initiating infrastructure investments, policies, and programs that strengthen resilience against future climate stresses and shocks. Consider how to locally navigate climate-action priorities through the COVID-19 crisis to:

• Boost climate-action momentum to mitigate risks and costs of delayed action e.g. combined impacts of COVID-19 and climate change on vulnerable people, economic disruption, public health (clean air, sufficient safe food and water)
• Prepare for impacts of climate change and COVID-19. Address threat multipliers such as pollution or natural disasters through local reduction of carbon emissions, retrofitting buildings, defences, and ring-fenced funding
• Build on residents' and businesses' behaviour changes during the pandemic that reduce emissions and enhance resiliency e.g. working from home, careful used of medical resources
• Maximize local benefits of an economic recovery that is climate friendly e.g. focus on the circular economy, use of renewable energies

Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape. People may feel ill, nervous, embarrassed or fearful in public places. With self-isolation and social distancing being a core component of 'living with COVID-19', people may feel trapped or particularly concerned about contamination and infection. Consider the provisions required to support people including:

• Helplines for those wanting to talk over the phone and support lines via live chat, text or email for those who don't wish to call or are unable to
• Webinars for the general public such as: how to be kind & compassionate to yourself', and 'dealing with COVID-19 negative thoughts when you already have anxiety'
• Access to approved therapists able to offer 1:1 support through therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and counselling

Signposting to supportive apps such as Headspace (www.headspace.com) or Calm (www.calm.com)

The transfer of diseases such as COVID-19, avian influenza and swine flu can occur in agriculture and food production sectors. This can be facilitated by the rapid industrialization of meat production and poor biosecurity. Consider:

• increased monitoring of agricultural production as 'big farms create big flu'
• careful monitoring of wild animal sales; simply banning such practices may only drive markets underground and reduce visibility
• disease mitigation measures on farming practices of vulnerable populations. In the avian influenza outbreak, poultry from 'backyard chicken' producers were slaughtered compulsorily in huge numbers which caused devastating impacts on livelihoods across southeast Asia
• affordable measures for smaller farmers to meet food and agricultural standards, and consideration that if you remove their livelihoods, they will likely become more susceptible to current disease or new zoonotic diseases as a result of wild animal sale or consumption

Existing resilience strategies should be amended in real-time to include long and short-term actions to combat the effects of COVID-19. This should include consideration of pre-existing vulnerabilities such as local socio-economic conditions, and environmental risk such as heatwaves and floods. Consider evaluating all indicators of all resilience programmes to weave COVID-19 impacts and indicators into sustainable resilience planning. This helps accommodate COVID-19 into existing long-term city plans, rather than trying to build resilience purely around COVID concerns

This lesson was contributed to by Chief Resilience Officers in the USA and Colombia, during project data collection.

The main housing insecure groups include:

1. Asylum seekers (with and without access to statutory support)
2. Private renters
3. Prisoners who have been released

To support these groups consider:

• Mapping housing supply and working in partnership with private businesses, landlords and public services to develop ethical lettings agencies
• Leasing properties off private landlords for a substantial period and letting through ethical lettings agencies
• Ask contractors for commitments to build affordable housing rather than contribute cash donations
• Removing caps on housing benefits
• Ensuring housing allowances for renters meets the rent profile of the area they are renting in
• Mapping facilities e.g. recreation centres that can be turned into emergency shelters for homeless people
• Mapping risks of shared accommodation and capacity during heat waves/winter and risk of infection
• Providing prepaid cards for use for essential shopping e.g. food, medication

References: Chief Resilience Officer, USA and a representative of a UK Local Authority

Much of the focus on the environment has been on the burden societies put upon natural resources. However, a people-centered perspective can be more appropriate in some contexts with extreme weather conditions or water shortages. For example, consider:

• that greening energy can raise energy bills which puts cost burdens on people in lockdown. In one US city, energy bills can reach up to 50% of people's income. This puts personal finances at risk which can create other behaviours that adversely impact the environment e.g. eating cheaper foods from less sustainable/environmentally friendly sources
• that telling people the cost of energy to them can encourage them to use less. This can also improve their receptiveness to adopting energy-saving practices

This lesson was contributed by a Chief Resilience Officer in the USA during project data collection.

The city of El Paso has mapped local economic opportunities in their area to develop economic strategies that rely less on precarious work such as those in the service industries. The city has five good Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) based Universities, and aim to leverage opportunities and relationships to develop a local economic sector based on life science and technology industries. El Paso is developing programmes to upskill the local workforce (many of whom are financially unstable and in service industries) towards STEM. The strategy recognizes the profile of the current workforce and is aiming to develop training programmes in jobs such as laser welding, which is technical but does not require high levels of education. This supports long-term economic development and is linked to community welfare and financial stability.

This lesson was contributed by El Paso City Officials in the USA during project data collection.

Consider:

• Training webinars to develop volunteer managers to develop capacity of 'professionalised' volunteers
• Developing specific training courses that include guidance documents and a set number of hours for course completion
• Developing a virtual library of resources to support other voluntary organisations, consider how these will be managed and vetted
• Build resources that complement existing government guidance

This lesson was contributed by a Volunteer coordinator of State in the USA during project data collecion.

Spontaneous supply chains (SSC) emerge during a crisis to meet unmet demand. They may fill a gap locally or nationally i.e. transformation in manufacturing and production. In the USA, Amish communities have shifted their production from woodwork and carpentry organised by men, to the production of facemasks by women. Women were sewing up to 50,000 face masks per day that met hospital sanctioned quality control. Consider:

• How SSC can be integrated into formal supply chains to ensure quality and efficiency
• How SSC can be integrated into local government efforts. Many SSCs are locally driven and so integration into existing local supply chains would increase their efficiency and effectiveness
• How to build firm-frim relations to support SSC integration e.g. building trust, developing contracts, designing management systems
• Opportunities for staying connected to local communities that have capacity to support

In the USA, The Emergency Services research team at NBC Universal developed a Disaster Response Team "Train-At-Home" game. The game is based on Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training, though you don't need to be CERT-trained to play. The game is designed to be fun, and for everyone. The game board and cards can be downloaded and printed at home. The aim is to provide tips and reminders to people about disaster response. The cards also hold references to sites where more information can be found.

Disaster management games for younger audiences can also be found here:

https://www.ready.gov/kids/games/data/dm-english/index.html

This lesson was contributed by a Disaster Program Specialist in the USA during project data collection.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises to:

• Avoid language that blames others or leads to stigmas
• Pay attention to what children see or hear, whether it's online, on television, or media such as newspapers
• Reduce the amount of screen time focused on COVID-19 as too much information can lead to anxiety
• Talk to children about how some internet stories on COVID-19 may be based on inaccurate information
• Help children thoroughly wash their hands for at least 20 seconds
• Teach and remind children to practice healthy habits e.g. coughing or sneezing into a tissue

In Louisville a city of 800k people in the USA, the Mayor led three activities to promote compassion in dealing with the effect of COVID-19. This has been underpinned by a value-based renewal of the city:

• Respect for each other
• Compassion for everyone to protect people
• Equity so that everyone feels connected to a bright and hopeful future

Three important actions to facilitate this were:

• Donations which generated $10m USD which could be allocated to good causes
• Digital equality for all

The "Lift Up Lou" campaign; a morale building initiative to help the city to focus on working together. 'Lift Up Lou' involved shared online activities that citizens could jointly participate in and a community song produced collaboratively by 30 local, notable musicians

Including:

• Advising citizens to remain prepared for a future lockdown - provide information to citizens about 'preparedness kits' that they may still want to keep available. This kit can include non-perishable foods, hygiene and cleaning products, basic medical supplies, and entertainment items. Consider providing information on items to purchase based on age or gender
• Advising citizens not to panic buy - if advising citizens to develop 'preparedness kits', provide clear information about how many items are reasonable per household, explain why over-stockpiling is not needed and detrimental
• Advising citizens about lockdown procedures - if advising citizens to develop 'preparedness kits', provide clear information to reiterate lockdown procedures such as social distancing, self-isolation, monitoring of systems, access to services during a lockdown

Strategies should broadly include:

• Sending alerts to the public so they know what to do
• Encouraging the public to make a plan to protect and connect with people close to them
• Educating the public about getting to safety with key items they would need
• Educating the public about staying safe at home when they can't leave
• Encouraging the public to help friends and neighbours get ready

This could include:

• Retrofitting programmes to make buildings more energy-efficient
• Mass tree planting
• Investment in solar and wind power
• Building infrastructure required for increased consumption and use of electric cars such as improved electricity networks, and public and personal capacity for charging stations

Additionally, due to lockdown these measures may not be as disruptive to people's daily lives compared to, for example, offices being retrofitted while in constant use.

This lesson was conributed to by Chief Resilience Officers in Italy and Australia during project data collection, along with the source link below.

While COVID-19 has had positive impacts on pollution levels, the creation of additional plastic waste from PPE and disposable items is going to landfill. Consider:

• Campaigns to remind people and businesses of the disadvantages of single-use plastics, and the benefits of reusable containers i.e. water bottles and carrier bags
• Campaigns to educate and remind people and businesses of the environmental impact of non-recyclable takeaway food packaging
• What can be done to mitigate the environmental impacts of increasing medical waste that is contaminated or not economical to recycle

PPE for recycling plant workers will be required to reduce waste going to landfill and consideration will need to be given to mitigate the impacts of dropping oil prices limited on the economies of recycling.

By taking the following steps:

• Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate. Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, and get plenty of sleep
• Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including social media
• Make time to unwind. Try to do some activities you enjoy
• Connect with others while practicing social distancing. Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling
• Call your healthcare provider if stress gets in the way of your daily activities for several days in a row
• Only share accurate information about COVID-19 with others, and understand the actual risk that you and the people you care about face

In Hawai'i, there are plans to enhance and stimulate the economy in an equitable manner to:

• Shift the reliance on a precarious tourist industry (which offers low wages to residents, especially women) and address the social and ecological costs of tourism
• Establish an adjustment fund to support displaced workers though retraining, enabling professional mobility, and supporting social entrepreneurship
• Establish gender and racial equity programs to enhance women's access to investment capital. This should extend beyond low-wage sectors, the commercial sex industry, and male dominated industries
• Invest in subsistence living
• Encourage traditional land- and sea-based practices to maximise the ecological and food system

In California, the "Stay Home. Save Lives. Check In." initiative has been developed in partnership with the California Department of Aging, and three founding partners from the public, private and academic sectors. The project aims to counter strict social distancing with social bridging (one-on-one communication with older adults through check-in phone calls). The project will:

• Train and mobilise >1000 people to telephone call older Californians to check on their well-being, direct them to resources, and connect them on a personal level
• Prioritise reaching the most isolated older adults those living in pandemic hot spots, and those likely to be facing food insecurity via "Social Bridgers"
• Train callers to assess basic needs and make referrals. Callers will use a tested call script to ensure consistency and reliability and will empathise with each individual's experience of this pandemic
• Use Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), trained volunteers affiliated with local public safety agencies
• Utilise United Airlines employees in San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles as they have a robust employee donation and volunteer system for disasters
• Use Sacramento State University gerontology students
• Expand partnerships in the coming weeks. Members of the public are not being solicited as callers at this time

Workers' compensation benefits may be required for registered volunteers that are injured while participating in authorized disaster-related activities. This can include injury sustained during pre-approved training, and covers activities undertaken in the response or recovery phases of a disaster or emergency. It does not include the day-to-day emergency response activities typically associated with, for example, law enforcement, fire services or emergency medical services. This may need to be supported by appropriate legislation.

This lesson was contributed by a Disaster Management expert in the USA during project data collection.

And ensure the consistency of all planning. For example:

Consider a national emergency plan with uniform standards for the gradual return to normality that:

1. Supports hospital systems and expand surge and testing capacity
2. Protects vulnerable populations, including seniors and those with access and functional needs
3. Supports homeless population and shelters through emergency protective measures
4. Ensures continuity of first responders and healthcare workforce
5. Provides state and federal economic impact assistance, including financial support for those economical areas that may only be allowed to resume operations at the last moment
6. Executes task force objectives and continue mid and long-term advance planning

Reference: Civil Protection experts in Germany and the USA.

Acting on information is a result not only of how the information is presented but of the way the subconscious operates; underlying beliefs, attitudes and motivations. The following can be considered:

• Connect precautions for COVID-19 to aspirational movements, like community spirit and local pride – keeping your community safe
• Leverage people’s desire to do the right thing for others in all aspects of their lives – e.g. what would your own grandmother want?
• Use images of famous people in protective gear delivering food – e.g. members of the Royal Family
• Feature celebrity athletes and movie stars telling people to shelter at home – e.g. through TV advertising

It will take a steady stream of messages to shift behaviour: this is not a one-off activity

Consider:

• Leveraging successes - identify parts of the organization that are working successfully under the current circumstances, and what can be learned about this for future operations
• The activities of the organization - identify parts of the organisation that need to be re-opened, re-started, or increased to full(er) capacity
• Who needs to return to the work - identify the location first i.e. who is able to continue to work from home, and the possibility of terminating employment due to reduced need
• Safeguards - identify what is needed to ensure that people returning to work are safe, give consideration to the potential for lawsuits if people have to be in harm's way to keep their jobs
• Agile financial management - where the organisation manages its finances using decision support, predictive analytics, and performance management, enabling it to operate with agility

Reference: President of an NGO, USA

These groups should represent the community's views on what recovery should involve. These groups should feed views and concerns into the government's Recovery Group. It is important to consider participant fatigue when collecting community data about recovery needs.

Reference: Chief Resilience Officer, USA

Impact Assessments can inform evolving governance during recovery, and incorporate the views of multiple stakeholders.

Reference: Chief Resilience Officer, USA

By considering what should open first, what should open last and the PPE requirements of business recovery. Commuting patterns should be considered.

Reference: Chief Resilience Officer, USA and the link below

Rather than different pieces of reference information in different places. This will support recovery as people will know exactly where to get information that is in line with the developing situation relating to Covid-19.

Reference: Officer of the Governor, California, USA

To prepare for natural disasters or malicious cyber-attacks.

Reference: Chief Resilience Officer, USA

This should include people who are part of the wider working society e.g. municipal waste workers, those involved in food production and distribution, as well as the more obvious workers (health related and response). This would support both the reopening of key services and the economy.

Reference: Chief Resilience Officer, USA

Including those without safe accommodation e.g. homeless, victims of domestic abuse. Consider the sustainability of these measures into longer-term recovery.

Reference: Chief Resilience Officers, USA and Italy

Consider how first responders can develop a 'code compliant, agile public safety office' that can support the public through shared responsibilities.

This lesson was offered by a Chief Resilience Officer in the USA during project data collection.

For example, instead of doing the usual Easter egg hunt - encourage people to do something more community centric like creating bags for children in need.

Reference: Chief Resilience Officer, USA

This can help to ensure as wide a community outreach as possible.

Hacking may have a cascading effect, for example, a cyber-attack on a trucking company could impact food security. The disruption could affect weekly food deliveries to supermarkets. In turn, the loss of revenue would weaken the business sustainability of distributors and producers.

Risks include:

• Hackers crashing Zoom meetings, disrupting conversations of government officials who conduct remote discussions (USA)
• False emails from the US Department of Health and Human Services are targeting supplier companies. They request protective equipment described in an attachment infected with malware. (USA)
• A cyberattack on Italy's social security system (INPS) has revealed Personally Identifiable Information to applicants as they were attempting to claim benefits (Italy)

Reference: Chief Resilience Officer, USA

This can ensure appropriate measures to recover the economy are developed. This may go hand-in-hand with the development of a resource centre for unemployed people to improve access to support. Considerations should be made to manage citizens' expectations of recovery and employment.

Reference: Chief Resilience Officer, USA

Consider whether immunity certificates would be helpful for residents who have safely survived the coronavirus and have antibodies in their blood to prove it. The article says that certificates might "have some merit under certain circumstances".

Local government should assess the continuity of recovery strategies across national boundaries to ensure all areas understand the strategic objectives of their neighbours. This should consider how the control of population movement could minimise risk of resurgence of Covid-19, and how the simultaneous opening of services could support national economy but compromise other aspects of recovery including the prevention of subsequent waves of infection.

Reference: State Volunteer Coordinator, USA

Local government should capitalise on new volunteer-to-volunteer relationships, to help provide multi-sectoral delivery of services and to build connections with vulnerable groups that they may have previously struggled to engagement with. For example, foodbanks could partner with organisations to combat wider issues of discrimination.

Reference: Team Rubicon, USA

Local government should capitalise on the digital revolution in volunteering by developing apps, utilising online campaigns, digital marketing and webinars for training sessions. This can help to support recovery and ongoing resilience activities as the public become more connected and engaged with local government and their communities.

Reference: American Red Cross, USA

Local government should continue moving their services to online delivery where possible to help those who are working from home, by strengthening digital infrastructure, network coverage in their areas and should consider developing cyber security campaigns. Out city "is trying to design a new digital routine, shaping work, events, meetings and initiatives on new online formats" for foreseeable future.

Reference: Chief Resilience Officer, Italy; and the American Red Cross, USA

Local government should provide early implementation of psychosocial support to build mental health provisions that can meet demands later on in recovery. Psychosocial support can be delivered on a self-selection basis, volunteers can be used to process this information.

Reference: State Volunteer Coordinator, USA

Local government should identify lessons learned and update their DRR plans, procedures and practices with knowledge gained during the Covid-19 response. This should integrate lessons from all sectors to improve DRR practices with information about epidemics that effect all aspects of society, commerce and life. Covid-19 has change thinking that pandemics were limited to the health sector and has moved its prominence into all sectors and to all stakeholder. Cities are now epidemic aware and this social and institutional memory should be recorded and used to inform plans.

Reference: American Red Cross

Local governments should test volunteers to see if they are infected with COVID-19, and the potential for track and trace, to the risk of resurgence or infection, especially in the vulnerable populations they support. Collecting this information can help to model the transmission of the virus.

Reference: American Red Cross , USA

Local government should capitalise on new volunteer-to-volunteer relationships, to help provide multi-sectoral delivery of services and to build connections with vulnerable groups that they may have previously struggled to engagement with. For example, foodbanks could partner with organisations to combat wider issues of discrimination.

Reference: State Volunteer Coordinator, USA