Solutions to fight COVID-19

Covid-19: what changes in the cities?

We live in unprecedented times and cities are at the heart of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

As an event never before experienced, the sharing of knowledge (solutions, insights, policies, etc.) is now more important than ever.

1. Now is Global: This is perhaps the first time that all countries, cities and communities have joined in the same struggle.
2. Now is Transversal: This is a crosscutting struggle across all sectors and services.
3. Now is Urgent: It is an unprecedented fight that requires us to act very quickly and effectively.
4. Now is Similar to everybody: It is the first time that we can learn and replicate solutions, regardless of where we are in the world.

Why are cities so important in the fight against Covid-19?

• Globalization justifies why diseases become global at an unprecedented rate. The freedom and speed with which we travel on a global scale are one of the most efficient vehicles of contagion and foster the exponential growth of the virus worldwide.
• Our challenges are greater today, but our combat weapons are also stronger. Data economics, collaboration between scientists and information in public opinion become extremely relevant in this struggle.
• With approximately half the world in lockdown, cities face enormous challenges to maintain a relative normality in the provision of public services (water, waste, energy, transportation, among others), to maintain law and order, to guarantee supply chains, support small businesses and ensure health services for all. Only through working with each community is it possible to persuade people to adopt new behaviors and new ways of life.
• Cities are rapidly adopting innovative technologies, policies and procedures to respond to the challenges they are witnessing.
• Cities have an important role in creating economic value, improving the quality of life and sustainability, but it is now evident that the resilience of cities is not a subtopic in this debate, but rather one of the main concerns on a global scale.
• The resilience capacity was not a key point in the management of cities –  especially in the area of ​​climate change and sustainability - but now assumes a holistic priority.

In the future, we believe that cities will be better prepared for this type of challenge. To respond to this new pandemic, several talks are underway, in order to prepare the stages of recovery and resilience. The first step in these phases is to understand the “new normal” of cities and to anticipate situations like this.

In this sense, we present a set of solutions and accelerators that aim to help our public managers to guarantee the functioning of services, to protect Portuguese citizens and to solve the problems of companies in this unprecedented COVID-19 crisis.

Find out more about our contribution in the fight against this pandemic, in the document for download.

If you are interested in knowing these solutions in detail, send us an email to ptcorporatemarketing@deloitte.pt.