thankfully, our provincial public health leadership did that in march. it needs to do it again now. reasonable and safe actions should supersede trying to be perfect and blameless. this was exactly the point made by dr. michael ryan from the world health organization at the start of the pandemic.
i suggest it is both the decision-makers and the general public who have difficulty with this important concept.
therefore, we also need expert communicators to explain to the public:
1.
we are in unprecedented times and the status quo management style we are accustomed to and expect could actually be a barrier in managing this pandemic.
2.
acknowledge that unfortunately, there will be some who will be economically harmed more than others. but emphasize the risk of not doing enough at the right time would harm them even more.
3.
accentuate that a change in opinion or policy is a reflection of keeping up with new knowledge and not incompetence. remind everyone this disease did not even exist a year ago.
4.
remind the public that though we may not have indisputable evidence to back up any recommended actions, by the time we get that evidence it could be too late.
5.
lastly, we need to reassure that once this is all over, our traditional management style still holds and remains for non-pandemic issues. it still reflects an important part of what canada is all about.