COVID-19 Risk Assessment Tool: Dual application of risk communication and risk governance.

Risk awareness is the best way to prevent and slow-down the transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic. Risk awareness is achieved through communication of risk assessment. Effective risk communication is an important measure to control the infodemic. Most risk assessment tools focus on either tracking the affected patients or diagnosing a probable health condition through symptoms. RIKA India introduces an innovative Risk Assessment Tool which goes beyond the symptom detection and patient tracking. It includes four factors in assessment of risk: Health, Behaviour, Exposure and Social Policy. Each of these four factors have sub-factors which help to assess the overall risk in a more comprehensive way and also present it to the user in a simplified way. The paper discusses the importance of the Risk Assessment Tool for awareness generation and decision making. Further, the datasets generated through the tool have been analysed to understand the key intervention areas for COVID-19 response and management.

Ecosystem-centric business continuity planning (eco-centric BCP): A post COVID19 new normal.

This article views the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity leading to a significant reduction in pollution levels, clean waters in rivers, improved visibility, and other tangible benefit to humanity and the environment. In Post-COVID scenario, to restore the margins and regain the lost production, industries are likely to increase their production leading to a quantum jump in the pollution levels. Having precedence of such a scenario in 2008-09, this article looks at what are the possible avenues to engage the city government and business houses through an a new normal ECO-BCP concept for long term sustainability. All economic stimulus needs to be tied down with the stringent reduction in the emission norms. The Ten Principles for the Eco-centric BCP guide the reopening of MSMEs after lockdown period called to check the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Eco-centric BCP model will help the MSMEs to adopt the new-normal business strategies to align with the country-specific commitments to SDGs, SFDRR and Paris declaration.