As the coronavirus spreads to Lebanon and Iran as well as South Korea and Italy in surprisingly large numbers, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the window is closing for containing the disease.
Meanwhile, the U.S. currently has no expert at the National Security Council who specializes in pandemics. In May 2018, then National Security Advisor John Bolton eliminated the office in charge of global health security and pushed out its leader, Rear Admiral Timothy Ziemer.
Fears over the first “viral virus” of the social media age continue to take unsettling turns since the disease was first detected in China’s Hubei province some eight weeks ago. With the economic cost rapidly escalating, risk managers are grappling with questions of how to respond.
As concern rises globally along with the need for governmental cooperation and efficiency, we learn that truth, global cooperation and trust matter.
We don’t have solutions, but we do have a number of recommendations for how best to communicate during the first pandemic of the social media age, in my latest CommPro column.
I hope you find the article helpful.
Richard Levick
Read: Communicating on Coronavirus: The First “Viral Virus” of the Social Media Era
