Sample Solution

The coronavirus pandemic is a global crisis that has had far-reaching impacts on people, businesses and societies around the world. According to Todnem By (2020), this type of situation can be classified as a “situational crisis” due to its rapid onset, unpredictable nature and serious implications for human health and safety. As outlined in Schlenker & Ziegler (2018), situational crises are typically caused by unforeseen events which require an immediate response to reduce the potential damages or losses.

In the case of COVID-19, underlying factors such as globalization, urbanization and air travel have enabled the virus to spread rapidly across borders with devastating consequences for public health systems worldwide (Thomas et al., 2020). In addition to leading to widespread illness and death, it has also led to mass economic disruption as governments implement restrictions on business activity in order to mitigate transmission rates (Cornelisse et al., 2020). This includes city-wide lockdowns that prevent individuals from going about their normal daily activities such as shopping or working outside their homes.

The situation is further complicated by the uncertainty surrounding how long these measures will need to remain in place in order for economic recovery efforts can begin (Culpan et al., 2020). This raises questions about when society will return back ‘normal’ levels of functioning and what new safety protocols may need be introduced moving forward in order maintain lower infection rates. Ultimately, only time will tell how well countries are able manage this ongoing crisis but it is clear that there are many challenging times ahead before life returns back ‘normal’ levels of functioning.