Plan to live alongside COVID-19 for 2021

Organisations need to learn to live with the COVID-19 virus and plan for further waves.

How are you?

The reality has hit in the UK in the past 24 hours that COVID-19 will continue to dominate our lives for at least the next 12 months.

It feels bleak. There’s a foreboding “here we go again” tone to the conversations that I’ve had today.

Much of organisational COVID-19 planning to date has focused on recovery.

We’d just started to return to offices. We’re now back to working from home where we can.

There’s a place for positivity and being upbeat but more than ever we need to be pragmatic. Resilience is critical.

There isn’t going be a recovery until we’ve got a vaccine and this isn’t an end within itself. We’ll then require a mass exercise of inoculation.

The virus mutates. Infection rates are increasing again. People are being reinfected. The virus is a bastard.

COVID-19 will continue to disrupt every aspect of our lives until will learn management strategies.

We need to learn to live with the virus, respect masks and distancing measures, and plan for third and fourth waves.

We need better access to testing and improved tracing systems.

We aren’t going to emerge or grow out of COVID-19 for a long time. Strap in for the long haul.

Any organisation that hasn’t figured out a way to protect people from the virus, and vaccinate its products, services or supply chains needs to do so immediately.

Unfortunately there is more pain to come for organisations that can’t figure out ways to co-exist alongside the virus. Arts, entertainment, sports, travel, and venues, all face a tough future.

The changes we are making in society to adapt are likely to remain forever.

Normal whatever that was is a fantasy. Look after yourself.