Wildlife must be protected from crime and trade for the sake of public and planetary health.

COVID-19 most likely had its origins in wildlife, and hundreds of thousands of new viruses could spill over from wildlife to humans. We are struggling to combat climate change, and we are staring down the loss of a million species. It's time to change course.

Global sales and operations planning: A multinational manufacturing company perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the global Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process and investigate the steps to support consolidated business planning in worldwide operations and large-scale supply chains. The paper conducts a case study at a multinational manufacturing company applying an abductive approach. It combines the deductive logic from theory and the inductive logic from field observation in an attempt to elaborate further on theory on global S&OP. The analysis is structured and guided by a novel framework for global S&OP, which is developed based on the theoretical background and the case study findings. The research findings characterise the S&OP process for global operations and identify challenges related to the need to synchronise the subsidiaries' S&OP efforts worldwide to deal with different contingencies of these subsidiaries, and to manage and analyse a large amount of information gathered. The research reveals how the subsidiaries' performance is analysed by top executives along the global S&OP process, feeding strategic initiatives in the organisation and identifying business opportunities like benchmarking among subsidiaries, synergies with other management practices, and global gains. This paper offers a novel investigation of the global steps on S&OP in a real-life setting, offering a well-documented characterisation of the process that goes beyond the traditional local approach. Moreover, it is the first study to reveal challenges and expected outcomes of such a global perspective for S&OP. The theoretical advancements of S&OP research offered herein aid scholars, opening avenues for middle-range theorising, highlighting the cross-disciplinary nature of the domain, and discussing the use of concepts from related disciplines like Economics, Psychology, and Information Systems. The research findings can also assist executives, especially from multinational manufacturers, in their efforts to consolidate global planning.

Multi-stakeholder perspective of courier service quality in B2C e-commerce.

Under conditions of the rapidly developing e-commerce sector especially during pandemic, ensuring high quality of courier service is essential both for clients, as well as courier companies. However, the literature lacks research linking the perspective of clients and organization in the context of courier service quality. The study aims to identify the factors determining courier service quality, their functions and interrelationships in business-to-customer (B2C) e-commerce. The main effect of research is the relational model, which is an original and complex approach to courier service quality considering the multi-stakeholder perspective of an online shop, a courier company and an e-customer. Apart from scientific contribution, the model can be used into managerial practice to formulate the recommendations for e-commerce and courier service sector. The research process involved using the quantitative method (electronic surveys conducted among e-shops and e-clients) and the qualitative method (in-depth-interviews carried out among courier enterprises). Finally, based on the empirical research results, the structural analysis was used to develop the model. As a result, the following groups of factors were distinguished that determine the quality of courier services: crucial, determinant, result, autonomous and external factors.

Commentary: mobile laboratories for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics: what Europe could learn from the East African Community to assure trade in times of border closures.

BACKGROUND: The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 mutants might lead to European border closures, which impact on trade and result in serious economic losses. In April 2020, similar border closures were observed during the first SARS-CoV-2 wave in East Africa. MAIN BODY: Since 2017 the East African Community EAC together with the Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine BNITM established a mobile laboratory network integrated into the National Public Health Laboratories of the six Partner States for molecular diagnosis of viral haemorrhagic fevers and SARS-CoV-2. Since May 2020, the National Public Health Laboratories of Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan deployed these mobile laboratories to their respective borders, issuing a newly developed "Electronic EAC COVID-19 Digital Certificate" to SARS-CoV-2 PCR-negative truck drivers, thus assuring regional trade. CONCLUSION: Considering the large financial damages of border closures, such a mobile laboratory network as demonstrated in East Africa is cost-effective, easy to implement and feasible. The East African Community mobile laboratory network could serve as a blueprint for Europe and other countries around the globe.

A COVID-19 Supply Chain Management Strategy Based on Variable Production under Uncertain Environment Conditions.

The management of a controllable production in the manufacturing system is essential to achieve viable advantages, particularly during emergency conditions. Disasters, either man-made or natural, affect production and supply chains negatively with perilous effects. On the other hand, flexibility and resilience to manage the perpetuated risks in a manufacturing system are vital for achieving a controllable production rate. Still, these performances are strongly dependent on the multi-criteria decision making in the working environment with the policies launched during the crisis. Undoubtedly, health stability in a society generates ripple effects in the supply chain due to high demand fluctuation, likewise due to the Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Incorporation of dependent demand factors to manage the risk from uncertainty during this pandemic has been a challenge to achieve a viable profit for the supply chain partners. A non-linear supply chain management model is developed with a controllable production rate to provide an economic benefit to the manufacturing firm in terms of the optimized total cost of production and to deal with the different situations under variable demand. The costs in the model are set as fuzzy to cope up with the uncertain conditions created by lasting pandemic. A numerical experiment is performed by utilizing the data set of the multi-stage manufacturing firm. The optimal results provide support for the industrial managers based on the proactive plan by the optimal utilization of the resources and controllable production rate to cope with the emergencies in a pandemic.

Virtual barriers: unpacking the sustainability implications of online food spaces and the Yellowknife Farmers Market's response to COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Through their support of local agriculture, relationships, and healthy diets, farmers markets can contribute to a sustainable food system. Markets like the Yellowknife Farmers Market (YKFM) are social spaces that support local food, yet the COVID-19 pandemic has forced changes to their current model. We explore the potential of online marketplaces to contribute to a resilient, sustainable food system through a case study of the YKFM. METHODS: In 2019, a collaborative mixed-method evaluation was initiated by the YKFM and university partners in the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada. The evaluation included an in-person Rapid Market Assessment dot survey and questionnaire of market patrons from two YKFM dates prior to the pandemic. Due to COVID-19, a vendor survey and interviews were deferred. Data collected from the two patron surveys, alongside researcher observations, available literature, public announcements, and informal email and phone discussions, inform the discussion. RESULTS: For the patron surveys, 59 dot survey and 31 questionnaire participants were recruited. The top motivators for attendance were eating dinner, atmosphere, and supporting local businesses, and most patrons attended as couples and spent over half of their time talking to others. The YKFM did not move online; instead, they proposed and implemented a "Shop, don't stop" market. Informal conversations suggested the small scale of the market and technology challenges were perceived barriers to moving online. The physically-distanced market was well-attended and featured in local media. CONCLUSIONS: NWT food strategies rely on farmers markets to nurture a local food system. Data suggest a potential incongruence between an online model and important market characteristics such as the event-like atmosphere. Available literature suggests online markets can support local food by facilitating purchasing and knowledge-sharing, yet they do not replicate the open-air or social experience. The decision not to move online for the YKFM reflects market patron characteristics and current food context in Yellowknife and the NWT. While online adaptation does not fit into the YKFM plan today, online markets may prove useful as a complementary strategy for future emerging stressors to enhance the resiliency of local systems.

Effects of COVID-19 on maritime industry: a review.

COVID-19 is a global disease that has quickly shaken the world economy since the beginning of 2020 and consequently has significantly affected the shipping industries development (including shipping operators, port operators, government authorities, shippers, seafarers, passengers, supply chain operators, etc.). Currently, the clinical management of COVID-19 remains unclear. In order to understand the newest challenges and figure out potential solutions for the maritime industries post COVID-19, this paper selected four shipping industries (including dry bulk, tanker, container, and cruiser sector) and reviewed these industries' newest development. The research findings can strengthen the awareness of COVID-19 and reduce operational risk and further improve business performance for the maritime related industries and authorities.

Safely Returning America to Work: Part I: General Guidance for Employers.

: Businesses are struggling to re-open as the world continues to deal with the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The reopening of businesses will require employers to implement safe return-to-work strategies through evaluation, testing, work modifications, and development of appropriate workplace policies. There will be unique challenges along the way as no one approach will be ideal for all workplaces and industries. This document is intended to provide return-to-work guidance for both employers and the occupational and environmental medicine physicians who will be supporting businesses in implementing safe return-to-work strategies.

Rapid Deployment of a Free, Privacy-Assured COVID-19 Symptom Tracker for Public Safety During Reopening: System Development and Feasibility Study.

BACKGROUND: Since the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the number of cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the United States has exponentially increased. Identifying and monitoring individuals with COVID-19 and individuals who have been exposed to the disease is critical to prevent transmission. Traditional contact tracing mechanisms are not structured on the scale needed to address this pandemic. As businesses reopen, institutions and agencies not traditionally engaged in disease prevention are being tasked with ensuring public safety. Systems to support organizations facing these new challenges are critically needed. Most currently available symptom trackers use a direct-to-consumer approach and use personal identifiers, which raises privacy concerns. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to develop a monitoring and reporting system for COVID-19 to support institutions conducting monitoring activities without compromising privacy. METHODS: Our multidisciplinary team designed a symptom tracking system after consultation with experts. The system was designed in the Georgetown University AvesTerra knowledge management environment, which supports data integration and synthesis to identify actionable events and maintain privacy. We conducted a beta test for functionality among consenting Georgetown University medical students. RESULTS: The symptom tracker system was designed based on guiding principles developed during peer consultations. Institutions are provided access to the system through an efficient onboarding process that uses clickwrap technology to document agreement to limited terms of use to rapidly enable free access. Institutions provide their constituents with a unique identifier to enter data through a web-based user interface to collect vetted symptoms as well as clinical and epidemiologic data. The website also provides individuals with educational information through links to the COVID-19 prevention recommendations from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Safety features include instructions for people with new or worsening symptoms to seek care. No personal identifiers are collected in the system. The reporter mechanism safeguards data access so that institutions can only access their own data, and it provides institutions with on-demand access to the data entered by their constituents, organized in summary reports that highlight actionable data. Development of the system began on March 15, 2020, and it was launched on March 20, 2020. In the beta test, 48 Georgetown University School of Medicine students or their social contacts entered data into the system from March 31 to April 5, 2020. One of the 48 users (2%) reported active COVID-19 infection and had no symptoms by the end of the monitoring period. No other participants reported symptoms. Only data with the unique entity identifier for our beta test were generated in our summary reports. CONCLUSIONS: This system harnesses insights into privacy and data sharing to avoid regulatory and legal hurdles to rapid adaption by entities tasked with maintaining public safety. Our pilot study demonstrated feasibility and ease of use. Refinements based on feedback from early adapters included release of a Spanish language version. These systems provide technological advances to complement the traditional contact tracing and digital tracing applications being implemented to limit SARS-CoV-2 transmission during reopening.

Globalisation in the time of COVID-19: repositioning Africa to meet the immediate and remote challenges.

The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in a new climate of uncertainty which is fuelling protectionism and playing into nationalist narratives. Globalisation is under significant threat as governments scramble to reduce their vulnerability to the virus by limiting global trade and flows of people. With the imposition of border closures and strict migration measures, there have been major disruptions in Africa's global supply chains with adverse impacts on employment and poverty. The African economies overly reliant on single export-orientated industries, such as oil and gas, are expected to be severely hit. This situation is further aggravated by tumbling oil prices and a lowered global demand for African non-oil products. The agricultural sector, which should buffer these shocks, is also being affected by the enforcement of lockdowns which threaten people's livelihoods and food security. Lockdowns may not be the answer in Africa and the issue of public health pandemic response will need to be addressed by enacting context-specific policies which should be implemented in a humane way. In addressing the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 on African nations, we argue that governments should prioritize social protection programmes to provide people with resources to maintain economic productivity while limiting job losses. International funders are committing assistance to Africa for this purpose, but generally as loans (adding to debt burdens) rather than as grants. G20 agreement so suspend debt payments for a year will help, but is insufficient to fiscal need. Maintaining cross-border trade and cooperation to continue generating public revenues is desirable. New strategies for diversifying African economies and limiting their dependence on external funding by promoting trade with a more regionalised (continental) focus as promoted by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, while not without limitations, should be explored. While it is premature to judge the final economic and death toll of COVID-19, African leaders' response to the pandemic, and the support they receive from wealthier nations, will determine its eventual outcomes.