Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

The public know that there are vast amounts of money being committed to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in many countries they do not know how much this is costing as the spending is constantly being adjusted as new responses and recovery initiatives are released. Consider producing an easy to read statement to make the costs transparent. See Japan's example: https://www.mofa.go.jp/files/100061342.pdf

The "Three Cs" are:

• Closed spaces
• Crowded places
• Close-contact settings

Advising people to avoid these three Cs may contribute to a communications message to prevent new outbreaks.

Telecom data cover large populations and uses pre-existing technology that can be used to understand mobility patterns and human behaviour in near-real-time. Indicators from telecom data can inform provide information about:

• The number of people visiting hotspots
• Where those visiting hotspots came from
• Where they went afterwards
• How restrictions have impacted populations' movements
• How many people are away home and for how long

This can provide localised information on track and trace, and may be particularly useful for countries with less well developed infrastructure and access to smart technology.

This may help communities feel they have ownership over information rather than simply being told.

For particular groups consider:

• Providing parents with skills to handle their own anxieties and help manage those in their children
• Provide information in accessible formats for those with disabilities
• Offer multiple forms of communication e.g. text captioning, signed video, online material suitable for use with assistive technology
• Support the translation of information into the preferred languages for different groups, ensuring that refuges and migrant groups are included
• Adjust information for community perceptions, beliefs and practices

This can include the number of infected people, their status, characteristics (e.g. age, gender), number of inquiries to the call centre, number of people using subways, etc. The city can also provide the website's source code as open-data, so that other municipalities and institutions can use the data and replicate similar webpages.

Local government plays a key role in building trust in new measures and tackling misinformation. There may be a need for this in the UK. Of 2,250 adults surveyed:

• 15% of people thought seasonal flu was deadlier than coronavirus
• 31% believed "most people" in the UK had already had the virus without realising it
• 39% think they should be shopping "little and often to avoid long queues", when the advice is only to go out to shop for basic necessities and as infrequently as possible.
• 25% believed the conspiracy theory that coronavirus was "probably created in a lab" - one of several conspiracy theories currently circulating on social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube.

Surveys like this help your organisation identify areas where their messaging is not as clear as it needs to be. Local government would benefit from continuing surveys on public opinion.