Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

Concurrent emergencies such as disruption to water supply or contamination of water resources can have serious impacts on healthcare facilities and the health of individuals, which may be amplified during a pandemic. Water outages or contaminated water can disrupt clinical procedures, e.g. maintaining a sterile environment in hospitals. Protecting water supply is also crucial during a pandemic, as poor hygiene is a catalyst for the rapid spread of infectious disease. Consider:

• Early scenario planning to consider different types of water shortages alongside the pandemic, and assess potential impacts on health facilities and public health
• The need to establish new systems to provide immediate support to communities in the event of water supply disruption or contamination during COVID-19:
  • Evaluate emergency response measures (e.g. mass water distribution) to determine if they are COVID-safe, and make necessary amendments if required
  • Plan for the need to construct and install handwashing stations in affected communities, to prevent rapid spread of the virus
• The potential for water stagnation to occur in buildings that have been unoccupied over the last year, which may lead to contamination
  • Identify buildings that have been unoccupied and plan for maintenance contractors to test and repair water systems before allowing the building to re-open

These concerns relate to opening infrastructure and maintaining infrastructure.

Opening infrastructure

• Schools - the reopening of schools is a hugely complex issue that requires consideration of health and safety, staffing, finances, building capacity and facilities. Reopening schools also has socioeconomic implications related to rights to education, safeguarding children, feasibility of adults to work and the economic impacts of this
• Public transport - reopening public transport services, increasing service capacity, and public trust in transport use is vital to keep cities and regions moving. Ensuring safe and sustainable mobility support local economies and the environment

Maintaining infrastructure

• Supply chains - special attention should be paid to the flexibility and resilience of supply chains as supply chain failures can have devastating impacts on capacity to respond and recover. Supply chains should be prepared for a second wave of the pandemic; critical and alternative suppliers should be identified so supply chains can be modified
• Internet access and cyber security - ensuring safe and secure connection and reliable internet access is crucial in keeping people, government and economies running. It also forms an important role in safe and trustworthy risk communication at all levels of society

TMB Issue 10 brings together the reflections of our learning from the first 10 weeks of gathering lessons on recovery and renewal from COVID-19. Follow the source link below to read all of the reflections from our team (p.9-15).