This is the impact of the Coronavirus on business.

Pandemics top national risk-management frameworks in many countries. For example, pandemic influenza tops the natural hazards matrix of the UK National Risk Register, and emerging infectious diseases are tagged as of considerable concern. Seen as a medical problem, each outbreak of a potentially dangerous infection prompts authorities to ask a rational set of questions and dust off the menu of response options that can be implemented as needed in a phased manner.

Reality, however, is generally more disruptive, as national governments and supranational agencies balance health security, economic and social imperatives on the back of imperfect and evolving intelligence. It's a governance challenge that may result in long-term consequences for communities and businesses. On top of this, they also need to accommodate human behaviour.

Management dilemmas and falling trust

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is no exception. The disease - an epidemic that could become a global pandemic - emerged in a densely populated manufacturing and transport hub in central China and has since spread to 29 other countries and regions (as of 20 February 2020), carried along by Chinese New Year and international travel.

In contrast to the Western Africa Ebola emergency of 2013-2016 - more deadly but less contagious, arguably more isolated, and eventually contained in part by richer countries putting money into Africa - COVID-19 presents larger, more interdependent economies with management dilemmas. It has also surfaced at a time of eroding trust within and between countries - with national leadership under pressure from growing societal unrest and economic confrontations between major powers.

Effective governance of cross-border crises such as pandemics involves preparedness, response and recovery at local, national and international levels. Epidemic preparedness assessments show many countries, especially in regions where new pathogens might emerge, are not well equipped to detect, report and respond to outbreaks.

Considerable progress has been made since the Ebola epidemic in West Africa in 2014-2016, but health systems worldwide are still under-prepared for significant outbreaks of other emerging infectious diseases... no country is fully prepared to handle an epidemic or pandemic.

Denial, cover ups and governance failures

Response strategies vary, for example: playing up or playing down crises and staying open for business as long as possible versus...

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