Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

Lessons for Resilience

Consider the concept of "as low as reasonably practicable" (ALARP) when assessing risk as we live with COVID
Topic:
Governance
Keywords:
Risk and security
Content:

The ALARP principle acknowledges that we might not be able to eliminate all risk, as risk is part of life, but we may be able to manage it. It is necessary to control risk, particularly when it comes to public health and safety. Throughout the pandemic we have continuously acknowledged the existence of COVID-19 risk and managed this risk to as low a level as practicable through various containment measures. When assessing COVID-19 risk ALARP, consider:

  • What level of COVID-19 risk is as low as reasonably practicable and acceptable, e.g. for lockdown to end (this could be based on factors such as levels of hospital admissions due to COVID-19, or the number of people vaccinated)
  • The likelihood of the hazard or the risk occurring and what degree of harm might result from the hazard or risk
  • What actions are available to minimise the risk
  • What cost is associated with available ways of minimising the risk - Is the cost proportionate to the risk
  • Communicate with the public and educate them about risk being ALARP, to increase understanding that we will continue to live with COVID-19, and that recovery will consider risk in terms of ALARP
  • Develop guidance for businesses (e.g. nightclubs) on operating according to the principles of risk ALARP in relation to COVID-19 containment
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Consider risk assessments to examine the requirements for the options for easing lockdown whilst supressing the spread of COVID-19
Topic:
Governance
Keywords:
Risk and security
Content:

Lockdown could be eased through:

  • Gradual school reopening because children are at low risk, and there are high economic and educational costs to school closure
  • Gradual return to work with younger people first (age segmentation) as they are relatively less at risk of COVID-19 than older people
  • Gradual return to work by sector/workplace (sector segmentation) as some pose less risky than others
  • Gradual release of lockdown by geography (geographic segmentation) as COVID-19 cases and NHS capacity vary across regions

Consider risk assessments for each of these options, since there are challenges with each e.g. cross-sector supply chains limit the benefits of sector segmentation.

Consider the following factors in the assessment:

  • Costs vs. benefits
  • How quickly can it be done?
  • Will it be seen as fair?
  • How practical is it?
  • Can it be enforced?
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