Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

COVID-19 has dominated news, media, and local and national government communications for the best part of a year since the pandemic began. One study found that excessive media use was associated with negative psychological outcomes, such as anxiety and stress. Positivity can aid stress management and reduce levels of anxiety/depression. Consider:

• Demonstrate that there is a world outside of COVID-19 by communicating positive stories unrelated to COVID-19
• Encourage more positive COVID-19 stories to come through, for example:
  • Create a local news special that celebrates the effort of local volunteers or local government during the pandemic
• Use communication channels (e.g. social media/newsletters) to communicate positive stories:
  • Invite local community members to share positive news and stories that can be shared and promoted through these channels
  • Invite school children to draw and write positive messages and hang them on the trees/fences of local parks/buildings
  • Encourage people to take regular breaks from consumption of COVID-19 news (signpost to community groups that may be running weekly bingo/quizzes online)
• Create a call-to-action for local volunteers and begin inviting the community to take part in and create new positive local initiatives that are focused on recovery and renewal from COVID-19

As the roll out of the COVID-19 vaccine gains pace, there has been reporting of a rise in criminal activity targeting people who await information about their vaccine. Examples of how fraudsters are exploiting the vaccine launch includes: scam text messages that request personal information such as bank details; fraudsters turning up at peoples' houses posing as National Health Service employees and offering vaccination for immediate payment. Fraud undermines public confidence in official programmes and contribute to a negative narrative around the vaccine programme. Consider public messaging to:

• Use a range of communication channels to build public awareness of fraudsters' tactics to encourage vigilance regarding vaccination communications
• Ensure communications about fraud awareness are available in different languages and different media e.g. to support migrants or support people with disabilities such as via informational videos: https://signhealth.org.uk/resources/coronavirus/
• Publish a list official government and health websites/social media channels that are authorised to provide official information on the vaccine
• Include in fraud communications information on the ways in which people will be invited for an official vaccine, and ways that they will not be invited
• Identify partnering organisations that can distribute messages about vaccine fraud e.g. organisations that run befriending schemes, check-in and chat services, vaccination partners
• Disseminate consistent information to these partnering organisations to advise them of how to provide information about fraud without concerning people about the safety of the vaccine itself

Research suggests that the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine will be heavily affected public attitudes about vaccination. For a highly infectious disease, even a vaccine with adequate efficacy, pace, and coverage may be insufficient to tackle population dynamics (e.g. age and population size) that produce high disease prevalence. Consider public messaging to:

• Foster widespread public understanding and enthusiasm for vaccination, while addressing sources of hesitancy for vaccines (generally and for COVID-19)
• Promote vaccine acceptance through culturally-sensitive, evidence-based and local communication
• Promote the continued need for other prevention practices even after a vaccine becomes available as reducing transmission requires a sustained commitment to public health practices
• Ensure that vaccines are understood by all communities, particularly underserved groups for which longstanding disparities in vaccination coverage have been evident

The scale of COVID-19 requires information to the shared across countries and regions effectively. Consider how your organization can contribute to open data sets such as The Living Repository and the 'OECD - GOVLAB- Call for Evidence: Use of Open Government Data in COVID-19 Outbreak'. Consider contributing or using open data to identify:

• COVID-19 cases, individuals at risk, and forecasting future scenarios, including disease spread/contraction, and possible treatments for those infected
• Availability and demand for supplies, locating and connecting actors with medical supplies
• Whether communities adhere to guidelines and recommendations outlined by health authorities
• Public perceptions and how restrictions are affecting well-being, including crime e.g. the rise in domestic violence and child abuse
• Whether efforts are efficient, transparent, meet needs, and do not violate democracy, privacy, ethics or fundamental human rights
• Misinformation including accuracy, speed and scale of fact-checking
• How, where, and when lockdowns are lifted
• How the pandemic affects those who live and travel outside their country of national origin
• The most effective forms of aid to those most vulnerable to the pandemic's economic shocks
• The risks and challenges workers face to their health and safety and the protections available
• The impact on the ability of students and workers to meet learning and training outcomes
• Institutions most likely to close as a result of the pandemic and providing support
• The pandemic's effect on climate-related activities, global emissions, energy usage, and wildlife
• Disruptions caused by confinement measures on the economy e.g. analysing data on supply chains, trade, impacts on inclusive growth

Children with hearing loss return will increasingly come into contact with other school students and members of staff wearing masks. Consider how to optimise communication with children with hearing loss by adapting the use of face coverings in schools:

• Use face shields instead of masks as these have been reported to improve communication through visual cues and lip reading
• Be aware of how sound may be reduced when wearing a face shield so utilise technology such as personal microphones to mitigate loss of sound
• Ensure staff's face is visible to children by mitigating fogging of face shields by rubbing a small amount of soap, using an 'anti fogging' spray, or inserting a folded facial tissue between the face and top edge of the mask
• Remind staff of basic communication strategies such as use of clear speech. This can include clear enunciation, speaking slowly, minimizing background noise as much as possible, and facing the class while speaking. Teachers should also remember to repeat the questions and answers provided by other students in the classroom to provide a better opportunity for every child to hear peers' comments
• Offer a recorded version of the lesson whether this is in written or video form, or speech-to-text technology to provide real-time notation

To avoid singling out students with hearing loss, teachers can develop a silent communication system with the student to signal comprehension or misunderstanding e.g. a card system where a red card on the child's desk indicates their need for assistance and a green card indicates comprehension.

Sharing information is a powerful way to relate the changing situation of the COVID-19 crisis to the public. We know that local information is best for keeping people up-to-date on how the virus is affecting people in their area – essentially, by communicating what is happening in their local community. Boise State University (Idaho) have developed an online interactive dashboard to communicate an array of information to the public about Idaho State and its counties. Johns Hopkins University provides a similar dashboard for global cases of COVID-19, providing country-level information. Consider providing:

• An interactive map of the area for the public clicked on and drill down to access area-specific information
• Colour coded areas of the region to communicate comparisons across key measures
• Updates of the number of cases and deaths presented numerically and graphically
• Layer on information on where to get local support i.e. available community resources
• Providing updates of:
  • key behaviours that officials want the public to adopt
  • changes in guidelines
  • significant decisions made by the crisis committee
• The date/time when the information was last updated
• The dashboard in relevant languages for the area

There is a glut of information on COVID-19 and more often we are seeing news outlets attempting to check and correct misinformation that be being shared. This should aim to ensure that the public have conclusions about the virus which are substantiated, correct, and without political interference. Myths can be debunked, misinformation corrected, and poor advice challenged. Consider whether to:

• Provide your own fact-checking website
• Contribute to others' fact-checking sources
• Check facts of colleagues and partners to ensure correct information prevails
• Remind others of the importance of not spreading misinformation and checking other peoples' facts
• Link your website to official sources of information so not to promulgate misinformation

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

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

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

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

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