COVID-19 “This Changed Everything”

The strain placed on all first responders, first receivers and the our entire population has been enormous. The unimaginable has occurred. This is the largest major worldwide pandemic since the Spanish Flu of 1918.
It has changed the way we respond and how we react to other emergency or disaster events in the midst of the pandemic.
During this pandemic, we’ve come against barriers and restrictions that almost all but prohibit us from responding the way would normally respond.
We are apparently still early on in the pandemic regarding how it will impact responders. We will need to be creative and yet strive for best practices in providing services. We must assuredly keep keenly focused on assuring our own safety, least we fall ill and become incapable of performing our duties. We then become a liability as opposed to an asset.

What Happens if a “Big One” Strikes During the Pandemic?
Robert George Andrews ( The Atlantic)

Disproportionate Effects:
“Ending ‘Acceptable Losses’ in Disasters: How Emergency Management Can Help Build More Equitable Communities
Chauncia Willis is the co-founder and CEO of the Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management (I-DIEM).