Suchergebnisse

Switzerland was one of the worst affected countries by COVID-19 in March 2020. On a per-capita basis it topped the global list of COVID-19 infections. Two major reasons for this are Switzerland's strong tourism industry and its role as a major meeting point for business in Europe. After realising how exposed Switzerland is to this new biological threat, the government took drastic measures, imposing an 'extraordinary situation', which provides the Federal government special powers in times of crisis. Since the initial heavy exposure to the virus, Switzerland has drastically improved its response to the threat and successfully flattened the curve. Switzerland has introduced a plan to ease restrictions but the reported behaviour of the public in response to this has raised significant concerns regarding a second wave of infections. This contribution will examine the plight of illegal immigrants in Switzerland in the context of this pandemic, a group whose particular vulnerabilities also represent a systemic threat to the health response.

Despite the economic crisis of the last decade and substantial migration flows from Syria and northern Africa, Greece is one of the few countries that has successfully managed to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from spreading in its territory. As of 31 May, 2020, Greece had 2,917 total confirmed COVID-19 cases with 175 deaths (6%) and 1,374 recoveries (47%). These low numbers were the result of the COVID-19 National Preparedness and Response Plan which focused on Public Safety, National Healthcare, Economy and Information Media. Several key decisions exemplified the timely response of the government and health officials from the day the first COVID-19 case was confirmed on 26 February, 2020, to mid-May.3 While these likely contributed directly to reduced community transmission, they also served as important signals to the community about how this campaign would need to be fought.

In October 2019, the Global Health Security (GHS) Index ranked the United States as the most prepared country against biological threats. Nevertheless, as of 1 June, 2020, the US death toll from the COVID-19 outbreak was 106,187, and confirmed infection cases had skyrocketed to 1,836,872. Currently, the US holds the highest fatality numbers recorded worldwide. These grim facts have exposed the illegitimacy of GHS Index rankings and revealed that the US was unprepared to deal with a pandemic of this magnitude. Why wasn't America ready for COVID-19? In May 2018, the Federal Government decided to defund a branch of the National Security Council. Ironically, that branch was the Health Security and Biodefense Directorate, which is responsible for pandemic preparedness. Being ill-equipped to manage this new and unforeseen COVID-19 threat resulted in a slow and disorganized national response that has jeopardized thousands of American lives. Another reason for the current health crisis was that the Federal Government adopted unconventional policies in regard to handling the outbreak. The Trump administration left it up to the states to oversee the COVID-19 response. Most states had no unifying guidelines and created their own planning for dealing with the pandemic. For instance, California's Governor, Mr Gavin Newson, was the first to issue stay-athome orders starting from 19 March, 2020. This measure restricted businesses such as gyms and retail stores from operating, while it allowed others that provide more essential services (e.g. post offices and supermarkets) to remain open. Other states, based on how they judged the situation, issued their own version of stay-at-home orders or outright refused to issue orders, such as Arkansas. The often-stated purpose of stay-at-home orders is to flatten the COVID-19 curve and prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed.

For thousands of years, soil resources in Greece have been a critical underpinning of local socio-economies. However, soil threats are increasing rapidly, primarily due to human activity and the impacts of climate change. Greek and other European state governments have established legal frameworks to protect soil, but there is a great need for centralization and harmonization with European Law. This chapter highlights the importance of integrated soil governance frameworks that could be applied at the regional or international level while also supporting public engagement and local focus. It also considers the urgent need to address erosion - a major threat to soil resources in Greece that affects local well-being, environmental sustainability and heritage sites.