ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) has highlighted the link between public healthcare and the broader context of operational response to complex crises. Data are needed to support the work of the emergency services and enhance governance. This study develops a Europe-wide analysis of perceptions, needs and priorities of the public affected by the Covid-19 emergency. An online multilingual survey was conducted from mid-May until mid-July 2020. The questionnaire investigates perceptions of public healthcare, emergency management and societal resilience. In total, N = 3029 valid answers were collected. They were analysed both as a whole and focusing on the most represented countries (Italy, Romania, Spain and the United Kingdom). Our findings highlight some perceived weaknesses in emergency management that are associated with the underlying vulnerability of the global interconnected society and public healthcare systems. The spreading of the epidemic in Italy represented a 'tipping point' for perceiving Covid-19 as an 'emergency' in the surveyed countries. The respondents uniformly suggested a preference for gradually restarting activities. We observed a tendency to ignore the cascading effects of Covid-19 and possible concurrence of threats. Our study highlights the need for practices designed to address the next phases of the Covid-19 crisis and prepare for future systemic shocks. Cascading effects that could compromise operational capacity need to be considered more carefully. We make the case for the reinforcement of cross-border coordination of public health initiatives, for standardization in business continuity management, and for dealing with the recovery at the European level.
ABSTRACT
Among the many repercussions of the COVID-19 emergency to be assessed, those on critical infrastructures and the associated businesses and professions are certainly important ones. In this paper, we document the conception, implementation and outcome of a survey organized by European Commission's Joint Research Centre and entitled "COVID-19: Emergency & Business Continuity". This was conducted in April-May 2020 with the participation of critical infrastructure experts (including professionals from the academia and research institutions, infrastructure operators and industry representatives, public authorities and members of security agencies), involved as stakeholders in the European Reference Network for Critical Infrastructure Protection (ERNCIP). Themes explored through this study include an assessment of the business continuity status and the evaluation of emergency management and disaster recovery aspects, as experienced from the perspective of different sectors, organization types and personal perceptions of the respondents.