Tapping into Lessons Learned from COVID-19 to Better Prevent, Prepare and Proactively Manage at the Local Level
The COVID-19 pandemic was something that no country, government or agency was truly prepared for. Whilst most government departments and municipalities spend significant time planning for disasters and have contingencies for all manner of scenarios, the pandemic was more significant and comprehensive than anyone imagined. The Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) was set up to plan for disasters and to create appropriate plans and mitigation strategies, but Michael Luchia, the Acting Deputy Chief of CEMA, says that the pandemic has not been a normal disaster, so whilst some of the plans worked as intended, others didn’t.
