Corona Pandemic and Crisis Management - A Cross-Country Perspective Heft 12 - Dezember 2021 Wien und Kleve
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Heft 12
Corona Pandemic and
Crisis Management
A Cross-Country Perspective
Dezember 2021
Wien und Kleve
11
PSCA Heft 12 (Dezember 2021) – ISSN 2306-5907
POLITICAL SCIENCE APPLIED
Zeitschrift für angewandte Politikwissenschaft
Heft 12
Dezember 2021
Corona Pandemic and Crisis Management
A Cross-Country Perspective
Herausgeber
Prof. Dr. Jakob Lempp, Hochschule Rhein-Waal
jakob.lempp@hochschule-rhein-waal.de
Dr. Angela Meyer, International Infrastructure Dialogue Center
angela.meyer@idialog.eu
Dr. Jan Niklas Rolf, Hochschule Rhein-Waal
jan-niklas.rolf@hochschule-rhein-waal.de
Redaktionsteam
Dr. Reinhard Brandl, Mitglied des Deutschen Bundestages
Prof. Dr. Alexander Brand, Hochschule Rhein-Waal
Dr. Stephan Dreischer, Sächsischer Landtag
Gregor Giersch, International Infrastructure Dialogue Center
Dr. Elsa Hackl, Universität Wien
Dr. Frieder Lempp, IESEG School of Management Paris
Dominik Meier, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Politikberatung
Prof. Dr. Werner J. Patzelt, Professor Emeritus
Dr. Thomas Pfister, Zeppelin Universität Friedrichshafen
Dr. Hermann van Boemmel, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit
Kontaktadresse: International Infrastructure Dialogue Center, Wallgasse 25/ 7-8, 1060 Vienna, Austria
Frei verfügbar unter: www.psca.euPSCA Heft 12 (Dezember 2021) – ISSN 2306-5907 Alle Rechte vorbehalten. Abdruck oder vergleichbare Verwendung der gesamten Zeitschrift oder einzelner Artikel ist auch in Auszügen nur mit vorheriger schriftlicher Genehmigung der Herausgeber gestattet. PSCA-Artikel unterliegen einem Begutachtungsverfahren durch das Redaktionsteam. Sie geben ausschließlich die persönliche Auffassung der Autoren und Autorinnen wieder. © IDC, 2021 ISSN 2306-5907 IDC International Infrastructure Dialogue Center Wallgasse 25/ 7-8 1060 Wien, Österreich www.idialog.eu www.psca.eu editors@psca.eu Herausgeber: Prof. Dr. Jakob Lempp Dr. Angela Meyer Dr. Jan Niklas Rolf
PSCA Heft 12 (Dezember 2021) – ISSN 2306-5907
Editorial
Seit Anfang 2020 lähmt die COVID-19-Pandemie viele Bereiche der Gesellschaft in nahezu allen
Teilen der Welt. Dabei versuchen die Regierungen auf teils sehr unterschiedlichen Wegen der Pan-
demie Herr zu werden. In fast allen Fällen haben die getroffenen Maßnahmen zur Eindämmung der
Pandemie jedoch erhebliche Folgen für das soziale, wirtschaftliche und kulturelle Leben der Bürge-
rinnen und Bürger. Bei der Abpufferung dieser Folgen werden einmal mehr gravierende Unter-
schiede zwischen den Ländern sichtbar.
Das zwölfte Heft der Zeitschrift für angewandte Politikwissenschaft widmet sich dem staatlichen
Krisenmanagement der COVID-19-Pandemie in vergleichender Perspektive und bringt zu diesem
Zweck zwanzig kurze Fallstudien aus Afrika, Amerika, Asien, Europa und Ozeanien zusammen, die in
vielerlei Hinsicht ein sehr breites Spektrum abdecken. Wichtig war uns bei der Fallauswahl, dass
nicht nur jene Fälle in den Fokus gerückt werden, die ohnehin stark in der öffentlichen Debatte
präsent sind, sei es aufgrund einer besonders drastischen Entwicklung der Erkrankungs- und Ster-
befallzahlen oder aufgrund außergewöhnlicher staatlicher Maßnahmen zur Bekämpfung der Pan-
demie. Und so finden sich unter den behandelten Ländern auch Beispiele von weniger im medialen
Rampenlicht stehenden Staaten, deren Krisenmanagement auch in der wissenschaftlichen Fachlite-
ratur bislang eher wenig reflektiert wurde. Als Autorinnen und Autoren konnten wieder eine Viel-
zahl von Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftlern sowie Praktikerinnen und Praktikern gewon-
nen werden, die die Entwicklungen der Pandemie zum Großteil direkt vor Ort beobachten konnten.
Zur zeitlichen Eingrenzung und besseren Vergleichbarkeit wurde der Fokus auf das erste Jahr der
Pandemie, beginnend mit dem Auftreten der ersten Fälle außerhalb von China im Frühjahr 2020,
gelegt.
Als übergeordnete Leitfrage steht über dem Heft die Frage: Wie haben die Regierungen in so unter-
schiedlichen Staaten wie Ghana, Brasilien, Kirgistan, Österreich und Neuseeland auf die Pandemie
reagiert? Die einzelnen Fallstudien orientieren sich jeweils – teils explizit, teils implizit – an den
folgenden Fragestellungen, die damit auch als Vergleichskategorien zwischen den behandelten
Ländern dienen können:
1. Welche Maßnahmen wurden von der Regierung getroffen, um die Pandemie einzudäm-
men, und wie effektiv waren diese bisher?
2. Welcher Wandel, welche Veränderungen lassen sich bei der Bekämpfung der Pandemie
über die Zeit beobachten?
3. Welche politischen und gesellschaftlichen Narrative und Erzählungen existieren rund um
die Pandemie und ihrer Bekämpfung?
4. Was hat die Regierung unternommen, um die sozioökonomischen Folgen der getroffenen
Maßnahmen abzufedern?
5. Wie beurteilt die Bevölkerung das Krisenmanagement und die Krisenkommunikation der
Regierung?
6. Was können andere Länder von dem betrachteten Land hinsichtlich Krisenmanagement
und -kommunikation lernen (und was nicht)?
Es versteht sich von selbst, dass es eine abschließende Antwort auf all diese Fragen naturgemäß
erst in einigen Jahren geben kann. Es geht hier also nicht um eine abschließende Beurteilung, son-
dern vielmehr um eine erste Bestandsaufnahme.
Wir wünschen allen Leserinnen und Lesern eine spannende und erkenntnisreiche Lektüre!
Jakob Lempp, Angela Meyer, Jan Niklas RolfPSCA Heft 12 (Dezember 2021) – ISSN 2306-5907
Inhalt
Kaayin Kee S. 3
Australia
Angela Meyer S. 7
Austria
Millie Jessica Fortunato Santos S. 10
Brazil
Joshua Lehmann S. 13
Chile
Constantino Pinto and Inge Lempp S. 17
East Timor
Sven Rassl S. 20
Finland
Alexander Gerber S. 24
Germany
Johannes Deregowski S. 26
Ghana
Giovanni Finizio S. 29
Italy
James Ogosi Yuko, Nelson Wanyonyi, Beatrice Onamu, Francis Onditi and Jakob Lempp S. 32
Kenya
Max Georg Meier S. 35
Kyrgyzstan
Frieder Lempp S. 40
New Zealand
Mohsina Atiq and Zunera Rana S. 44
Pakistan
Tatiana Zimenkova S. 47
Russia
Rainer Schmidt S. 51
Rwanda
Jean-Paul Janata S. 53
South Korea
Oliver Faude S. 56
Switzerland
Hasan Alkas S. 59
Turkey
Jan Niklas Rolf S. 62
United Kingdom
Gregory Gleason S. 65
UzbekistanPSCA Heft 12 (Dezember 2021) – ISSN 2306-5907
Australia 2020 – roughly two months after the first con-
Kaayin Kee firmed case of COVID-19 in Australia. This was
followed shortly after by the declaration of a
Kaayin Kee is currently involved in public biosecurity emergency, which under legisla-
health research with the Murdoch Children’s tive order, prevents Australian citizens and
Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia. permanent residents from leaving the coun-
Prior to this, she completed a Bachelor of Arts try, with minimal exemptions. This combina-
specialising in International Relations at the tion of measures has meant that the only re-
Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences in maining possibility of COVID-19 entering the
Kleve, Germany. country has been through returning citizens
and residents.
For those within the country, particularly in
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Aus- any state apart from Victoria and New South
tralia has been lauded as one of the top re- Wales, this severity has played a significant
sponders globally. With most of Australia’s role in the luxurious normality experienced by
COVID-19 cases and deaths isolated to the Australians. As first and second waves surged
south-eastern state of Victoria and its capital globally in 2020, life continued largely as ex-
city, Melbourne, the majority of the country pected in those states, with masks, social dis-
has experienced month-long periods of tancing, and hand hygiene encouraged but not
COVID-19-free living. An envy to the rest of strictly enforced. The most interesting and
the world, it is worth considering what has set fervent government action was therefore to
Australia apart. be seen in the aforementioned two states,
While it is difficult to write a static piece in the particularly the state of Victoria which was the
very dynamically changing situation that com- only to experience a second wave of any sig-
prises the pandemic, Australia likely provides nificance at the time of writing.
one of the more suitable contexts for writing The situation that unfolded in Victoria during
such a piece, due to the relative stability it has its second wave juxtaposes very strongly with
experienced during this time. This stability has the rest of the country, as the state was
meant that Australia has held the privileged locked down for roughly four months from
position of being able to observe other coun- mid-June to the mid-October in 2020 in a con-
tries’ actions without the urgency those coun- dition of extreme stringency. At the most ex-
tries have experienced, and inform its deci- treme period of the lockdown, Victorians, who
sions with this information. were already under stay-at-home orders, were
Throughout this factsheet, the most important not allowed further than five kilometres from
detail to keep in mind is that Australia is an their homes, as well as facing a curfew of 8
island continent, with most of the Australian PM. Not wearing a mask where required or
population clustered at the peripheries of the breaching stay-at-home orders would further
Australian landmass. As such, the geographical result in fines from $200 up to $5000. Howev-
distance between borders internally as well as er, since the end of this lockdown, Victoria has
externally has aided in minimising transmis- barely experienced more than five new cases
sion of COVID-19, regardless of government of COVID-19 on any given day, which is indica-
influence. tive of the lockdown’s success, at least in
terms of new infections.
1. What measures have been taken by the
government to control the pandemic, and 2. What changes can be observed in pan-
how effective have these measures been demic control over time?
so far?
Since the aforementioned lockdown in Victo-
The geographical advantage Australia holds ria, there have been no further long-lasting
has been supplemented by a hard closure of lockdowns. Instead, states have implemented
Australia’s international border to non-citizens ‘snap’ or ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdowns each time
and non-residents since the 20th of March, a new cluster of cases has been detected in
3PSCA Heft 12 (Dezember 2021) – ISSN 2306-5907
the community. While these lockdowns, each 4. What has the government done to miti-
lasting from two days to two weeks, have dif- gate the socioeconomic consequences of
fered from the major lockdown experienced the measures taken?
by Victoria, their implementation is indicative
that the Australian government’s “aggressive There have been a number of government
suppression” strategy remains in place actions to mitigate the socioeconomic conse-
(Coatsworth, 2020). That is, although each quences of the international border closures
state will experience periods of local elimina- and state lockdowns. Most notably, a wage
tion of the virus, it has been acknowledged subsidy program was developed to provide
that elimination cannot last, meaning control eligible businesses with partial coverage of the
measures will be repeatedly imposed until cost of employee wages while they were
elimination can be successfully achieved. It is forced to close during lockdowns, with the
the hope that this will come with high enough intention of aiding in retention of employment
rates of vaccination amongst the public, but for Australian citizens. Additional to this, a
the timely fulfilment of this seems to prove ‘Coronavirus Supplement’ was added on to all
challenging to Australia at present. government-provided income support pay-
ments, and Australians were temporarily al-
3. What political and societal narratives lowed to apply to access a portion of their
exist around the pandemic and pandemic superannuation fund early (Department of the
control? Treasury, n.d.). However, all such Australia-
wide pandemic-related support payments
It is of the author’s opinion that the societal have already ceased after roughly a year of
reaction in Australia around the pandemic has their inclusion in the federal budget. State-
been relatively mild. For instance, as with the specific support payments however, particu-
rest of the world, a sudden increase of Sino- larly in the states where relapsing into lock-
phobia was observed during 2020, which alt- down is more likely, are still available.
hough unjustified, has nevertheless appeared
to be less vitriolic than in other countries such 5. How does the population assess the gov-
as the United States. In New York City, a num- ernment’s crisis management and crisis
ber of volunteer neighbourhood watch groups communication?
have had to intervene in response to in-
creased physical assaults on individuals of East The Australian government has made signifi-
Asian ethnicity (Petri, 2021), but racism in cant blunders in its response to the pandemic,
Australia has not reached this extent. which have been fodder for news media. The
On a political level, the Morrison Government disembarking of several hundred COVID-19
announced in May 2020 that it would instigate infected passengers from a cruise ship in Syd-
an independent international investigation ney and the opting of private security guards
into the origins of COVID-19 by aiming to form instead of soldiers for manning hotels operat-
a new body for the oversight of global health, ing as quarantine facilities in Melbourne dur-
implying a degree of distrust for the World ing Victoria’s second wave have been some of
Health Organisation and especially for China the largest headlines amongst a constant bab-
(Probyn, 2020). However, as this was a deci- ble of complaints. The plight of small busi-
sion by the government and not necessarily nesses, the government’s stringency on re-
the public, this also did not translate in an stricting its own citizens from crossing bor-
obvious way into anti-Chinese sentiment. ders, and the relatively slow rollout of COVID-
Otherwise, it was interesting to observe that 19 vaccinations have been repeatedly cited as
during its long lockdown, Victoria embraced issues in the government’s response. Howev-
its responsibility with a spirit of solidarity. er, these issues have not been anywhere near
While anti-lockdown protests became increas- enough to cause major uprisings against the
ingly prevalent and difficult to contain over- government, as seen recently in Brazil or ear-
seas, any attempt to do so during the lock- lier in Lebanon.
down in Victoria quickly fizzled out.
4PSCA Heft 12 (Dezember 2021) – ISSN 2306-5907
Multiple surveys conducted since the Australi- 2021). Contrasted to the string of protests of
an government’s management of the pandem- varying levels of unrest in Europe earlier this
ic could be assessed have shown that most year, such as the protest in Kassel, Germany of
Australians are generally satisfied with the more than 20,000 attendees (Jones, 2021), or
government’s performance (Devlin and Con- the riots in Urk, the Netherlands (Haddad,
naughton, 2020; Insightfully, 2020, as cited in 2021), Australians have been noticeably coop-
Hanrahan, 2020; Melbourne Institute, 2020). erative and obedient. When there is so much
Given that Australians have at least some un- heterogeneity in the world’s societies to con-
derstanding that the majority of the world’s sider, advising other countries that their citi-
citizens are experiencing the pandemic under zens should adopt a similar mindset to im-
much more dire circumstances, and therefore prove their pandemic conditions seems like a
have a benchmark against which they can dubious suggestion.
measure their own pandemic realities, this
seems like an appropriate response. Literature
6. What can other countries learn from the Coatsworth, N. (2020) Eliminating COVID-19 a
country under consideration in terms of false hope. [Online] Available at:
crisis management and crisis communica- https://www.health.gov.au/news/eliminating-
tion (and what not)? covid-19-a-false-hope
Australia has maintained a significantly high Crabb, A. (2021) COVID-19 has taught us that
testing rate per confirmed case (Roser et al., what Australians really want is to be told what
2020). Testing has been regularly encouraged to do. [Online] Available at:
through social awareness campaigns and press https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-
conferences, and is free and widely available, 24/annabel-crabb-australia-talks-survey-
with easy online tools developed to find one’s analysis-covid-19/100142792
nearest testing sites. Coupled with an empha-
sis on contact tracing (in some states more Department of the Treasury (n.d.) Economic
than others), this has meant that the likeli- Response to the Coronavirus. [Online] Availa-
hood of detecting and subsequently contain- ble at: https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus
ing new cases as they occur has been one of
Australia’s strong points. As such, other coun- Devlin, K., and Connaughton, A (2020) Most
tries might consider emulating Australia’s Approve of National Response to COVID-19 in
encouragement of testing, and their framing 14 Advanced Economies. [Online] Available at:
of it as convenient and important for the https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2020/0
greater society. Furthermore, the stringency 8/27/most-approve-of-national-response-to-
of introduced measures, involving fines and covid-19-in-14-advanced-economies/
the closing of internal and external borders,
although impractical for certain regions of the Gilbert, L. (2020) Australians ‘do the right
world, might also be of consideration. thing’ when following COVID-19 advice: sur-
It is somewhat difficult to answer this prompt vey. [Online] Available at:
without considering Australian sociology. In https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/health/
attempting to answer the question as to what australians-%E2%80%98do-right-
has set Australia apart, it has been found that thing%E2%80%99-when-following-covid-19-
one of the more notable aspects has been advice-survey
Australians’ willingness to follow social dis-
tancing measures (Gilbert, 2020; O’Sullivan, Haddad, M. (2021) Mapping coronavirus anti-
Rahamathulla and Pawar, 2020; Crabb, 2021). lockdown protests around the world. [Online]
Results of a national survey have implied that Available at:
Australians prefer to be given rules to follow, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/2/
with a high consensus on the restriction of mapping-coronavirus-anti-lockdown-protests-
freedoms to keep Australians safe (Crabb, around-the-world
5PSCA Heft 12 (Dezember 2021) – ISSN 2306-5907
Hanrahan, C. (2020) Coronavirus response
wins support – but we’re less happy with other
Aussies’ behaviour. [Online] Available at:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-
16/coronavirus-numbers-government-
support-survey-data/12147292
Jones, T. (2021) Germany: Anti-lockdown pro-
test turn violent in Kassel. [Online] Available
at: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-anti-
lockdown-protest-turns-violent-in-kassel/a-
56938225
Melbourne Institute (2020) Taking the pulse of
the nation: Australians satisfied with the gov-
ernment’s handling of the coronavirus (COVID-
19) pandemic. [pdf] Melbourne: The Universi-
ty of Melbourne. Available at:
https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/_
_data/assets/pdf_file/0004/3347851/Taking-
the-pulse-of-the-nation-6-11-April-FV.pdf
O’Sullivan, D., Rahamathulla, M. and Pawar,
M. (2020) The Impact and Implications of
COVID-19: An Australian Perspective, The In-
ternational Journal of Community and Social
Development, [Online] Available at:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.117
7/2516602620937922
Petri, A. E., 2021. To Combat Anti-Asian At-
tacks, New Yorkers Join Neighborhood Watch
Patrols. [Online] Available at:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/08/nyregi
on/anti-asian-violence-neighborhood-
watch.html
Probyn, A., 2020. Scott Morrison lobbies Don-
ald Trump, others for greater world health
oversight to prevent another pandemic.
[Online] Available at:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-
22/morrison-to-push-for-anti-pandemic-
inspection-powers/12173806
Roser, M. et al. (2020) Coronavirus Pandemic
(COVID-19). [Online] Available at:
https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus-
testing
6PSCA Heft 12 (Dezember 2021) – ISSN 2306-5907
Austria feiertage zwischen 7. und 26. Dezember abge-
Angela Meyer schwächt, sodass der Handel kurzzeitig wieder
öffnen durfte. Der anschließende dritte harte
Angela Meyer ist promovierte Politikwissen- Lockdown endete am 8. Februar 2021. Neben
schaftlerin. Sie ist Gründungsmitglied und Vor- der Wiederöffnung von Handel, sowie Muse-
standsvorsitzende des International Infrastruc- en, Bibliotheken und Tiergärten wurde auch in
ture Dialogue Center in Wien. Volksschulen der Präsenzunterricht wieder
aufgenommen, während in höheren Schulen
ein Schichtbetrieb eingeführt wurde. Restau-
1. Welche Maßnahmen wurden von der rants, Hotels und Sportbetriebe mussten al-
Regierung getroffen, um die Pandemie lerdings mit ihrer Öffnung bis Mai 2021 war-
einzudämmen, und wie effektiv waren ten. Zum verpflichteten Tragen von FFP2 Mas-
diese bisher? Und: ken, die schon seit Ende Januar überall den
2. Welcher Wandel, welche Veränderungen „normalen“ Mundnasenschutz ersetzt hatten,
lassen sich bei der Bekämpfung der Pan- kam als weitere neue Regelung die Testpflicht
demie über die Zeit beobachten? für Schüler der Oberstufe und für den Besuch
bei körpernahmen Dienstleistern wie Friseu-
In Österreich wurden erste Infektionen mit ren hinzu.
dem Corona-Virus am 25. Februar 2020 aus Die Effektivität der von Bund und Ländern
Tirol gemeldet. Das Gesundheitsministerium verhängten Maßnahmen wurde weitgehend in
richtete in der Folge zunächst eine Taskforce Frage gestellt und kritisiert. Vorgeworfen
ein, startete eine Hotline und fing an, Men- wurde vor allem die oft scheinbare Ziellosig-
schen mit Symptomen zuhause zu testen. Auf keit, Beliebigkeit und fehlende Nachvollzieh-
Grundlage des vom Parlament verabschiede- barkeit von Erlass, Lockerung und Aufhebung
ten „COVID-19-Maßnahmengesetzes (BGBl. I der Lockdown-Phasen. Während die Regie-
Nr. 12/2020)“ wurde ab 16. März ein landes- rung den Rückgang des Infektionsgeschehens
weiter Lockdown verhängt: Das Verlassen der im Frühsommer als Beleg für ihr erfolgreiches
Wohnung war nur noch unter bestimmten Krisenmanagement darstellte, wurde dem
Umständen, wie Arbeit, Einkaufen, Arztbesu- auch entgegnet, dass fehlende Informationen
che oder Erholung gestattet, Treffen von mehr über das neuartige Virus, Unsicherheit und
als fünf Personen wurden verboten, Restau- Angst viele Menschen zu Selbstschutz- und
rants, Hotels, Sport- und Kultureinrichtungen Vorsichtsmaßnahmen und einer Limitierung
sowie Geschäfte, die nicht der Grundversor- sozialer Kontakte animiert haben, die letzt-
gung dienen, geschlossen, und der Schul- und endlich die Ansteckungsgefahr reduzierten.
Universitätsunterricht auf Distance Learning
umgestellt. Unternehmen sollten nach Mög- 3. Welche politischen und gesellschaftlichen
lichkeit Home-Office Betrieb einführen. Dieser Narrative und Erzählungen existieren
erste harte Lockdown, der nach und nach ei- rund um die Pandemie und ihrer Be-
nige Lockerungsmaßnahmen erfuhr, dauerte kämpfung?
bis Mitte Mai. Das Sinken der registrierten
täglichen Neuinfektionen, vor allem aber der Schon sehr früh haben sowohl die österreichi-
Rückgang der stationären Neuaufnahmen von sche Bundesregierung als auch Landesregie-
COVID-19 Fällen in den Intensivstationen führ- rungen wie die Stadt Wien Slogans und Bilder
ten zu der Entscheidung, Gastronomie, Hotel- eingesetzt, um unterschiedliche Maßnahmen
lerie, Kultureinrichtungen und den gesamten zu propagieren. Hier lassen sich zwei Tenden-
Handel wieder zu öffnen. Nach einem relativ zen erkennen: zum einen fällt eine starke Ver-
entspannten Sommer ließ der Wiederanstieg einfachung bis hin zur Infantilisierung auf.
des Infektionsgeschehens im Herbst die Regie- Prominentestes Beispiel hierfür ist sicherlich
rung jedoch einen neuen harten Lockdown ab der in der Folge viel diskutierte Babyelefant,
17. November mit ähnlichen Maßnahmen wie der von der Bundesregierung als Symbol für
im Frühjahr verhängen. Dieser zweite Lock- den Ein-Meter-Sicherheitsabstand herhalten
down wurde in Hinblick auf die Weihnachts- musste. Unter dem Motto "Schau auf Dich,
7PSCA Heft 12 (Dezember 2021) – ISSN 2306-5907
schau auf mich" wurde zudem ein TV-Spot krisenbedingten Einkommensentfall von
ausgestrahlt, in dem ein Kind im Elefantenkos- Selbstständigen und Kleinstunternehmen ab-
tüm Passanten auseinanderschiebt, um so für zufedern.
die Einhaltung des Mindestabstands zu sensi- Ein drittes Paket umfasst den Fixkostenzu-
bilisieren. Zum anderen setzt man auf den schuss, den Verlustersatz und den Ausfallsbo-
Einsatz von Dialekt. So versucht die Stadt nus der Unternehmen, die unter den mit Pan-
Wien, unterschiedliche Zielgruppen über demie verbundenen Einschränkungen leiden,
Werbung in öffentlichen Verkehrsmitteln, einen Teil der Fixkosten bzw. der Umsatzein-
Radio, Fernsehen, social media und Print- und bußen abdeckt.
Onlinemedien für die Pandemiebekämpfung Für eine Bewertung der wirtschaftlichen Maß-
und die Corona-Impfung zu erreichen und legt nahmen ist es sicherlich noch zu früh, auch
hierbei den Schwerpunkt auf die Wiener weil die Frage der Finanzierung im Grunde
Mundart. Dies etwa mit der OIDA Regel1 noch gar nicht im politischen Diskurs ange-
(„Obstond hoitn, Immer d’Händ‘ woschn, Da- kommen ist. Auffällig ist aber, dass die gravie-
ham bleiben und A Maskn aufsetzn… und es renden Folgen für die Gleichheit von Bildungs-
wird wieder leiwand, Oida“) oder Slogans wie chancen oder die Unterschiede bei Lohn- und
„Putz di, Corona“ oder „Schau, dass’d weida Einkommensverlusten verschiedener Bevölke-
kummst, Corona“. In beiden Fällen – also bei rungsgruppen, v.a. der Jungen zwar gelegent-
der Infantilisierung und dem Einsatz von lich thematisiert werden, aber kaum als aku-
Mundart – liegt nahe, dass versucht wird, ein tes Handlungsfeld erkannt werden.
gewisses Gemeinschaftsgefühl und Zusam-
menhalten im Kampf gegen das Corona-Virus 5. Wie beurteilt die Bevölkerung das Kri-
zu erzeugen. Jeder soll einen Beitrag in der senmanagement und die Krisenkommu-
Pandemiebekämpfung leisten, und die Einhal- nikation der Regierung?
tung der Maßnahmen wird als kinderleicht
oder „babyeinfach“ dargestellt. Über den Dia- Während im ersten Lockdown die Bevölkerung
lekt wird zudem ein Wir-Gefühl gegenüber – teilweise aus Furcht vor einem noch wenig
einer Krise vermittelt, die zugleich als global bekannten Virus – zumindest anfangs die von
und von außen kommend dargestellt wird. der Bundesregierung verhängten Corona-
Maßnahmen weitgehend befolgte, ließ sich in
4. Was hat die Regierung unternommen, der Folge zunehmend Unmut und Kritik be-
um die sozioökonomischen Folgen der merken. Unzufriedenheit herrschte etwa über
getroffenen Maßnahmen abzufedern? die strenge Kontrolle und das teilweise sehr
scharfe Vorgehen der Polizei zur Einhaltung
Um die Wirtschaft während der zeitweisen von Abstands- und Ausgangsregelungen.
Schließung von Gastronomie, Hotellerie, Kul- Ebenso sorgte der sogenannte „Ostererlass“,
tur- und Sporteinrichtungen, sowie einigen der für die Osterfeiertage 2020 größere Fami-
Dienstleistungsbetrieben zu unterstützen, die lienfeiern verbieten sollte, für breite Aufre-
Produktions- und Einnahmenausfälle aufzu- gung. Kritisiert wurde die fehlende Rechts-
fangen und massive Entlassungen zu verhin- grundlage, gingen doch einige der propagier-
dern, wurde eine Reihe von Programmen zur ten Verbote über den extrem spät veröffent-
Verfügung gestellt. lichten Verordnungsrahmen hinaus. Verfas-
Zum einen wurde zusammen mit den Sozial- sungsexperten sahen im Erlass zudem einen
partnern die Kurzarbeit stark vereinfacht und Eingriff in das geschützte Hausrecht und beur-
finanziell aufgebessert. Anträge waren um teilten ihn als rechtswidrig. Nur fünf Tage spä-
einiges einfacher zu stellen und wurden ter zog die Regierung die Osterregelung wie-
schneller vom Arbeitsmarktservice bearbeitet. der zurück. Steigender Unmut und eine sin-
Weiters wurde ein Härtefallfonds in der Höhe kende Bereitschaft zu erneuten Einschränkun-
von zwei Milliarden Euro eingerichtet, um den gen machten sich vor allem ab Herbst 2020
bemerkbar. Nach einem doch relativ lockeren
1
Die österreichische Diskurspartikel „Oida“ ent- Sommer führte die Wiederaufnahme von
spricht dem bundesdeutschen „Alter“ oder Maßnahmen und die Ankündigung eines er-
„Mensch“. Leiwand entspricht cool, toll.
8PSCA Heft 12 (Dezember 2021) – ISSN 2306-5907
neuten Lockdowns zu einer weit stärkeren struktur auf. Während in vielen Ländern Euro-
Verdrossenheit als im Frühjahr. Dem Krisen- pas das Angebot von öffentlichen Testmög-
management der Bundesregierung wurde in lichkeiten für die Bevölkerung nur langsam in
diesem Zusammenhang vor allem Ziel- und Gang gekommen ist, hat Österreich an dieser
Orientierungslosigkeit, den Verordnungen Stelle sehr schnell reagiert. Zwischen Jahres-
Widersprüchlichkeit und den Maßnahmen beginn und Februar 2021 hat sich die Zahl der
Beliebigkeit und fehlende Nachvollziehbarkeit landesweit durchgeführten Corona-Tests von
vorgeworfen. Letzteres wurde sogar vom ös- vier auf zwölf Millionen verdreifacht. Mit
terreichischen Verfassungsgerichtshof teilwei- 10.800 Tests pro 100.000 Einwohner rangierte
se bestätigt: dieser kippte einige der im CO- Österreich damit EU-weit auf Platz drei. Seit
VID-19-Maßnahmengesetz enthaltenen Regu- Februar bietet jede Gemeinde kostenlose
lierungen, wie etwa das allgemeine Ausgangs- Teststraßen an, Gratis Antigentests können in
verbot, nachträglich, da diese nicht ausrei- vielen Apotheken gemacht oder als Kits für
chend begründet waren. zuhause abgeholt werden und Supermärkte
verteilen PCR Tests gratis und nehmen diese
6. Was können andere Länder von dem entgegen. Schulkinder werden automatisch
betrachteten Land hinsichtlich Krisenma- mehrmals wöchentlich in der Schule getestet.
nagement und -kommunikation lernen Während eine solche Maßnahme es ermög-
(und was nicht)? lichte, ab Februar den Schulbetrieb wieder
aufzunehmen und die Öffnung beispielsweise
Österreich und vor allem dem Bundesland von Friseuren und anderen körpernahmen
Tirol wird in Punkto Krisenmanagement vor- Dienstleistern zu gewährleisten, ist das häufi-
geworfen, anfangs viel zu langsam auf die ge Testen auf der anderen Seite auch mit sehr
Corona-Krise reagiert zu haben, und dies ins- hohen Kosten und viel Aufwand verbunden.
besondere vor dem Hintergrund, Tourismus
und Skisaison nicht zu gefährden. Während
bereits Ende Februar 2020 gemeldet wurde,
dass sich isländische Skigäste in Ischgl mit dem
Coronavirus angesteckt hätten, dauerte es
ganze acht Tage, bis der Skiort zum Risikoge-
biet erklärt und unter Quarantäne gestellt
wurde. Mit Bekanntwerden des lokalen Infek-
tionsherds von Ischgl setze ein eiliges und vor
allem unkontrolliertes Abreisen von internati-
onalen Urlaubern ein, die das Virus so in ihre
Heimatländer verschleppten. Während die in
der Folge dann doch recht zügig umgesetzten
drastischen Maßnahmen von einigen Seiten,
wie beispielsweise der bayrischen Landesre-
gierung, teilweise als nachahmenswert be-
trachtet wurden, ging dieser Eindruck bald
verloren. Zum einen kritisierten viele Länder,
allen voran Deutschland, die als verfrüht emp-
fundenen Lockerungen in Österreich im Früh-
sommer. Zum anderen wurde ab Herbst 2020
das Regelchaos kritisiert, das mit der Einfüh-
rung der vorab viel gepriesenen Corona-
Ampel, die einmal wöchentlich die Infektions-
lage in den Bundesländern abbilden und ent-
sprechende Regulierungen begründen sollte,
einherging. EU-weit fiel Österreich hingegen
durch seine relativ stark ausgebaute Testinfra-
9PSCA Heft 12 (Dezember 2021) – ISSN 2306-5907
Brazil 2. What changes can be observed in pan-
Millie Jessica Fortunato Santos demic control over time?
Millie Santos is currently a Monitoring and At the time of writing, Brazil was the country
Evaluation (M&E) consultant at Mainlevel AG, with the third highest number of COVID-19
expert in international development research deaths worldwide, following the United States
topics such as human capital, gender equality and India. By the end of June 2021, over 18
and household economics. She holds a mas- million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more
ters’ degree in International Economics & Eco- than 500,000 deaths had been reported in the
nomic Policy (M.Sc.) from the Goethe Universi- country, as the virus continues to spread at
ty Frankfurt and a bachelors’ degree in Inter- elevated levels (Ministério da Saúde, 2021).
national Relations (B.A) from the Rhine-Waal National statistics indicate that the pandemic
University of Applied Sciences. Her study focus has had negative effects on income and em-
regions are Latin America and Sub-Saharan ployment, generating a chain of economic
Africa. effects, especially for the already most vulner-
able populations, including women, indige-
nous and black communities. In addition,
1. What measures have been taken by the there may also be psychological impacts from
government to control the pandemic, and the adjustments that individuals have found it
how effective have these measures been necessary to make in their everyday lives,
so far? including physical distancing, social isolation
and quarantining (Brooks et al., 2020).
The first COVID-19 confirmed infection case
was reported on February 26, 2020; the pan- 3. What political and societal narratives
demic reached a first peak in mid-August and exist around the pandemic and pandemic
had steadily receded through early November control?
2020. However, an acute second wave led the
number of daily cases and deaths to new highs As the number of COVID-19 cases increased,
in April 2021. The Brazilian Congress declared efforts taken by state governments to combat
a state of “public calamity” at the onset of the the virus were often at odds with the positions
pandemic, lifting the government’s obligation adopted by the far-right leader president, Jair
to comply with the primary responsibilities to Messias Bolsonaro, who pressured public
control the spread of the virus. Emergency health officials to do away with social distanc-
measures were taken, in which the govern- ing recommendations, calling COVID-19 a
ment promised to implement social, health, “measly cold.” Internal political conflicts be-
fiscal and monetary measures to contain the tween Bolsonaro and other public officials led
impacts brought by the pandemic. to inefficiencies while trying to come up with
Nevertheless, the chaotic and delayed gov- rapid policy solutions to contain the pandem-
ernmental response against the coronavirus ic. The most prominent example shows how,
led Brazil to become the world leader in daily within the scope of one year, three health
confirmed infections and deaths in March ministers left their mandate after clashes with
2021. The president’s constant denial of the Bolsonaro, bringing even more chaos to the
virus’ existence and anti-quarantine measures already polarized political environment in the
led to the outbreak of corona cases in the country. Communication channels across the
country. Ongoing public investigations, such as world have shown how the far-right president
the COVID-19 Parliamentary Commission of has downplayed the pandemic, ignored con-
Inquiry (CPI), are currently investigating al- tainment measures and promoted treatments
leged omissions and irregularities in federal with no scientific basis – he became “a threat
government spending during the COVID-19 to its own population”. Medical researchers
pandemic in Brazil. and professionals felt ignored and blamed the
anti-science government for the devastating
COVID-19 surge.
10PSCA Heft 12 (Dezember 2021) – ISSN 2306-5907
4. What has the government done to miti- 5. How does the population assess the gov-
gate the socioeconomic consequences of ernment’s crisis management and crisis
the measures taken? communication?
The fiscal responses advocated by the federal In addition to the health, political and eco-
government included the expansion of health nomic crises, the Federal Government is facing
spending and temporary income support to a credibility crisis which emerged during the
vulnerable households – cash transfers to pandemic, overshadowing the impact of
informal and low-income workers, the so COVID-19. Confidence in the government fell
called “Emergency Aid program”. The program as the number of infections increased. A
temporarily benefited over 50% of the Brazili- communication crisis also emerged as the
an population, who received assistance to coronavirus brought a flood of information in
offset the fall in their income resulting from which not all of it is reliable2. The era of fake
10 million job losses in the first four months of news was never as strong in Brazil as before. A
the pandemic. For poorer parts of the popula- study conducted by the Federal University of
tion, the monthly assistance of 600 Brazilian Santa Maria (UFSM) shows that a majority of
reais (almost US$ 120) was granted for five the Brazilian people does not believe in the
months (April – August 2020) (ECLAC, 2020). information provided by public managers and
In addition, expanding the Bolsa Familia pro- the traditional media in Brazil, which resulted
gram with the inclusion of over 1 million more in a misinformed and distrustful population
beneficiaries, employment support (partial (Klein, 2021). At a time when the country is
compensation to workers who were laid off), facing the worst phase of the pandemic, effi-
and transfers from the federal to state gov- cient communication – with correct infor-
ernments to support higher health spending mation – can be the difference between life
and as cushion against the expected fall in and death.
revenues were also promoted (IMF, 2021).
Although a few government measures were 6. What can other countries learn from the
(belatedly) implemented, the country’s cur- country under consideration in terms of
rent socioeconomic situation shows its ineffi- crisis management and crisis communica-
ciencies as the country continues to struggle tion (and what not)?
with, for instance, the millions of Brazilians
who were tossed back into poverty (12.8% of The international media extensively exposed
Brazil’s population are now living below the how the Brazilian government’s negligent
poverty line, FGV 2021). In fact, controlling the response to COVID-19 has plunged the South
COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil is a challenge of American country into a snowballing “humani-
continental proportions. Its rapid spread in tarian catastrophe”. The humanitarian charity
the country is attributable to many factors, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has con-
including urban density, timing of the imple- demned Brazilian authorities for their failure
mentation and maintenance of social distanc- to control the spread of virus, which has led to
ing policies, and limited testing capacity (Mon- thousands of needless deaths, caused the
teiro et al., 2020). Although some experts health system to nearly collapse, and left staff
believed Brazil would be well equipped to rise exhausted and traumatised. Consequently,
to the challenge of a pandemic, the country’s international concern over Brazil’s unchecked
underfunded public health system tracked the outbreak and the spread of the more conta-
highest number of emergencies, as the virus gious variants continues to grow. To this end,
has taken a devastating toll on health care there are no immediate crisis management
workers. Dozens of nurses and hospital tech- best practices in Brazil that can replicated in
nicians died after contracting the virus at other countries.
work.
2
The lack of reliable information brought by the
current political /communication crisis in Brazil
justifies the absence of direct government sources
in this article.
11PSCA Heft 12 (Dezember 2021) – ISSN 2306-5907
Literature
Brooks, S.K., Webster, R.K., Smith, L.E., Wood-
land, L., Wessely, S., Greenberg, N. and Rubin,
G.J., (2020). “The psychological impact of
quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review
of the evidence”. The Lancet 395 (10227), 912-
920.
ECLAC (2020). Preliminary Overview of the
Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean
2020, case Brazil. Economic Commission for
Latin America and the Caribbean.
FGV (2021). COVID-19 statistics 2021. Getulio
Vargas Foundation.
IMF (2021). Policy Responses to COVID-19.
International Monetary Fund,
https://www.ufsm.br/midias/arco/crise-
credibilidade/
Klein, E. (2021). Rise in cases, fall in confi-
dence: government's credibility crisis during
the pandemic. Universidade Federal Santa
Maria (UFSM). Revista Arco, Jornalismo
Científico e Cultural,
https://www.ufsm.br/midias/arco/crise-
credibilidade/
Ministério da Saúde (2021). Painel
Coronavírus. Governo Federal,
https://covid.saude.gov.br/
Monteiro de Oliveira, M., Fuller, T.L., Brasil, P.
et al. (2020) “Controlling the COVID-19 pan-
demic in Brazil: a challenge of continental
proportions.” Nat Med 26, 1505-1506.
12PSCA Heft 12 (Dezember 2021) – ISSN 2306-5907
Chile curement process (Aguilera et al., 2021).
Joshua Lehmann While the Pfizer-BioNTech (20.000 doses in
December 2020) and AstraZeneca (160.000
Joshua Lehmann is a student of International doses in April 2021) vaccines did not nearly
Relations at Rhine-Waal University of Applied cover the Chilean demand, Aguilera et al.
Sciences where he works as a Student Assis- (2021) attribute the early and extensive vac-
tant at the Faculty of Society & Economics. cination rollout in Chile to the Chinese Coro-
Since December 2019, he is the Chairman of naVac delivery, which amounted to 1.9 million
the General Students’ Committee at Rhine- doses in January 2021 and 2 million more dos-
Waal University. es shortly after.
Notwithstanding the initially very successful
vaccination campaign that managed to get
1. What measures have been taken by the 73% of the population vaccinated until Sep-
government to control the pandemic, and tember 2021, the infection rate in Chile has
how effective have these measures been grown significantly and reached unprecedent-
so far? ed levels during the summer of 2021 (OWD,
2021). The number of corona-related deaths
On March 18, 2020, Chile’s president Piñera has more than doubled since January 2021
issued a national state of emergency – un and in June, more than 98% of intensive care
estado de catástrofe – to expand the govern- beds were occupied - mostly by young, unvac-
ment’s competences and regain control over cinated Chileans (Scheuble, 2021; Reperger,
the spread of the virus (Oasis, 2020). Nonethe- 2021b). One reason for the rising rate of infec-
less, in July 2020, Chile was the country with tions has its roots in the, number-wise very
the highest rate of infections per 100.000 in- successful, vaccination campaign. Approxi-
habitants in the world, therefore very strict mately 90% of the vaccinated Chileans re-
national and even harsher regional restrictions ceived the CoronaVac vaccine, which, accord-
were imposed (Domínguez, 2020). Many Chil- ing to a recent study by the Universidad de
eans, especially from the urban areas, en- Chile and the Chinese disease control agency,
dured what would become one of the most only provides around 50% protection against
extensive lockdowns worldwide. Although an infection with the virus (DW, 2021; Reper-
schools and daycares remained closed during ger, 2021b).
most of the pandemic, the restrictions on To counterbalance this development, the Chil-
many businesses were lifted at the end of ean government has again introduced a very
2020. Reperger (2021b) argues that the deci- strict lockdown, which extensively limits free-
sion to remove these restrictions was made dom of movement and prohibits citizens from
too early and contributed significantly to the leaving their apartment more than twice a
second wave of the pandemic. week or without a permission from police
Chile’s position in the global race for vaccines authorities (DW, 2021). Initially intended only
is pointedly assessed by Aguilera et al. (2021), for 90 days, Chile remains in a legal state of
who argue that Chile was “too rich to be prior- emergency to this day: in June 2021, congress
ity for global health agendas or donations, too approved the latest extension until September
poor to compete with Europe and North 30, 2021 (Prensa Latina, 2021).
America on global markets, too unimportant
for big pharmaceutical companies, and too 2. What changes can be observed in pan-
unprepared to launch an own rapid vaccine demic control over time and which politi-
development program.“ Being aware of Chile’s cal and societal narratives exist around
precarious situation on the global market, the the pandemic and pandemic control?
Chilean foreign ministry diversified its search
for vaccines and negotiated with vendors from A significant and, as Reperger (2021a, 2021b)
different world regions and across all vaccine argues, fatal change in pandemic control was
mechanisms, thereby trying to circumnavigate undertaken in the light of the triumphant nar-
political or scientific failure during the pro- rative of the well-executed vaccination cam-
13PSCA Heft 12 (Dezember 2021) – ISSN 2306-5907
paign. Due to the enthusiastic mood in the other states resorted to stimulus packages,
general population and the government's direct financial assistance, tax cuts, and other
desire to present itself as a competent crisis tangible measures, the Chilean government
manager, public health policy started to focus limited such programs and instead let its pop-
on the distribution of vaccinations alone, ulace carry the burden of the pandemic. Mul-
while at the same time measures like contact tiple times since 2020, Chileans were able to
tracing, widespread testing, and prevention withdraw 10 percent of their pension from the
were neglected – even under repeated protest state’s pension fund to compensate for in-
by the Chilean medical association (Reperger, come losses. While state-funded aid programs
2021b). The above-mentioned widespread only amounted to $5 billion, more than $37.5
narrative of the successful vaccination cam- billion in savings were withdrawn from citi-
paign gave rise to a negligence of safety zen’s future pensions (Laing & Cambero,
measures not only in government agencies, 2021). According to Reperger (2021b), more
but also among the population. Reperger than 3 million of the 17 million Chileans have
(2021b) attributes developments like a reduc- already exhausted their retirement savings
tion in mask usage, large events and parties, and are no longer entitled to a pension. The
unrestricted travel, and an increase in com- financial distress of many was therefore mere-
merce to the government’s effort to celebrate ly deferred to the future.
the vaccination campaign, proclaim the pro-
spect of herd immunity in the near future, and 4. How does the population assess the gov-
downplay the weaknesses of the CoronaVac ernment’s crisis management and crisis
vaccine. communication?
Chile’s ailing health care system produced
another narrative among Chileans: only the After the initial success of the vaccination
poor die from the virus. 85% of Chileans are campaign, Chileans are now disillusioned by
not able to afford treatment in private hospi- the surge in infections and deaths. Hopes of
tals and are therefore forced to seek care in being spared from another wave were let
the crumbling, underfunded public hospitals. down and many feel “disappointed and fright-
As a result, lower-income neighborhoods have ened” (Boddenberg, 2021) or frustrated and
significantly higher death and infection rates confused due to the swift change in govern-
than richer areas (Domínguez, 2020; Reperger, ment communication from triumphantly pro-
2021b). claiming to be “vaccination world champion”
to sending nearly 90% of the population into
3. What has the government done to miti- harsh lockdowns again. Critics further blame
gate the socioeconomic consequences of president Piñera for lifting restrictions too fast
the measures taken? twice – once before, once after the vaccina-
tion campaign (Chambers, 2021).
Already in 2020, the World Bank predicted
that, largely due to the pandemic, between 88 5. What can other countries learn from the
and 115 million people worldwide would fall country under consideration in terms of
into extreme poverty - 4.8 million of which in crisis management and crisis communica-
Latin America (World Bank, 2020; Achcar, tion (and what not)?
2020). With more than half of its population
not being able to pay their bills at the end of Chile’s early and determined negotiations to
the month, Chile is among the states most order vaccines serve as an exemplary case for
affected by this economic downturn and re- state procurement in crisis situations. Neither
sulting surges in unemployment. did the foreign ministry officials exclude cer-
The financial relief provided by Chile’s unem- tain types of products, nor did they rule out
ployment benefits and welfare programs only vendor states for political reasons. Especially
marginally improved the economic situation in crisis situations and under time constraints,
among its inhabitants and was not capable of this broadly diversified approach to procure-
palpably mitigating the crisis effects. While ment enabled Chile to order, buy, and distrib-
14PSCA Heft 12 (Dezember 2021) – ISSN 2306-5907
ute vaccines faster than any other state in the Deutsche Welle (DW) (2021) Chile: „Impf-
world. The meticulously organized vaccination Champion verhängt neue Ausgangssperren“,
campaign further strengthened the public Deutsche Welle 13.06.2021. Accessible online
image of a caring government and diligent at: https://www.dw.com/de/corona-impf-
bureaucracy. Nonetheless, the widespread use champion-chile-verh%C3%A4ngt-neue-
of a weak vaccine in combination with lifted ausgangssperren/a-57871263
restrictions and the abandonment of other
containment measures destroyed this narra- Domínguez, N. (2020) “Pandemie offenbart
tive and left the Chileans disillusioned and Chiles reale Situation”, Swiss Info 02.07.2020.
angry. While the proclamation of collective Accessible online at:
successes and the creation of a positive out- https://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/pandemie-
look are crucial parts of public crisis communi- offenbart-chiles-reale-situation/45876480
cation, overexaggerating your successes and
taking disproportionate measures can shatter Gaudichaud, F. (2021) “Der lange Abschied
a government’s credibility in the long run. von Pinochet”, Le monde diplomatique
Notwithstanding the circumstances, Chile held 4/2021, 11.
the historic election for its constitutional con-
vent in May 2021 and even organized its con- Laing, A, and Cambero, F. (2021) “Chile's pres-
vocation (Gaudichaud, 2021). Adhering to and ident will sign into law third drawdown on
strengthening of democratic processes even pensions”, Reuters 28.04.2021. Accessible
during such an overwhelming crisis can also online at:
serve as an example for the extraordinary https://www.reuters.com/article/chile-
determination of a country’s population to politics-idUSL1N2MK2XT
shape and create their state’s future - even
under adverse conditions. Oasis (2020) “Coronavirus en Chile: Piñera
decreta estado de catástrofe por 90 días”,
Literature Oasis FM 18.03.2020. Accessible online at:
https://oasisfm.cl/oasis-hoy/coronavirus-en-
Achcar, G. (2020). “Dans le tiers-monde, un chile-pinera-decreta-estado-de-catastrofe-
«grand confinement» dévastateur”, Le monde por-90-dias
diplomatique 11/2020, 14-15.
Our World in Data (OWD) (2021) “Coronavirus
Aguilera, X., Mundt, A.P., Araos, R. and Weit- (COVID-19) Vaccinations by Country”, Our
zel, T. (2021) “The story behind Chile's rapid World in Data 15.09.2021. Accessible online
rollout of COVID-19 vaccination”, Travel Medi- at: https://ourworldindata.org/covid-
cine and Infectious Disease 42. Accessible vaccinations?country=OWID_WRL
online at:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2021.102092 Prensa Latina (2021) “Chile extends state of
emergency amid controversy”, Prensa Latina
Boddenberg, S. (2021) “Der Impfweltmeister English 25.06.2021. Accessible online at:
im Lockdown“, Weltzeit 06.04.2021. Accessi- https://www.plenglish.com/index.php?o=rn&i
ble online at: d=68835&SEO=chile-extends-state-of emer-
https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/entta gency-amid-controversy
euschung-in-chile-der-impfweltmeister-im-
lock- Reperger, S. (2021a) „Wenn der Impferfolg
down.979.de.html?dram:article_id=495272 zum Verhängnis wird. Interview by Claudia
Detsch”, IPG-Journal 26.04.2021. Accessible
Chambers, J. (2021) “Chile sees Covid surge online at: https://www.ipg-
despite vaccination success”, BBC 16.04.2021. jour-
Accessible online at: nal.de/interviews/artikel/impfweltmeister-
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin- chile-im-harten-lockdown-5139/
america-56731801
15PSCA Heft 12 (Dezember 2021) – ISSN 2306-5907
Reperger, S. (2021b) „Corona in Chile: Das
Ende des Neoliberalismus?“, Blätter für deut-
sche und internationale Politik 6/2021, 37-40.
Scheuble, L. (2021) „Hohe Impfquote, aber das
Vakzin aus China versagt: Chile „am Rande des
Kollaps““, Stern 18.06.2021. Accessible online
at: https://www.stern.de/gesundheit/corona-
welle-in-chile---letztes-jahr-hatten-die-
menschen-angst-zu-sterben--30577804.html
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Recovery”, World Bank East Asia and Pacific
Economic Update 10/2020. Accessible online
at:
https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/eap/p
ublication/east-asia-pacific-economic-update
16PSCA Heft 12 (Dezember 2021) – ISSN 2306-5907
East Timor infected people remained very low (below 50
Constantino Pinto and Inge Lempp in total for 2020). From July 2020 through
April 2021 the World Food Program (WFP)
Constantino Pinto has a Bachelor degree in chartered a monthly flight between Kuala
Social-Political Science from the National Uni- Lumpur and Timor-Leste to assist diplomatic,
versity of Timor Lorosa’e. He has worked for UN, Timorese government and NGO related
various NGOs, and since 2005 was co-founder personnel.
and is now executive Director of Fundasaun At the beginning of 2021, first COVID-19 infec-
Lafaek Diak (The Good Crocodile Foundation), tion clusters were detected through communi-
working in rural development in Baucau, Ti- ty screening in the capital of Dili and in villages
mor-Leste, focusing on asset-based community in the Cova-lima municipality around Suai, as
development in health programs, agriculture there is a lot of unregulated border crossing in
and income-generating activities. the mountains and rural areas. The govern-
ment conducted contact tracing and expanded
Inge Lempp was born and raised in Indonesia, community testing. In early March, a cluster
and lives in Timor Leste since 1999. She has a was detected in Baucau (further east) and Dili
Bachelor in Social-Pedagogics from the Evan- was declared a hot-spot with community
gelische Hochschule für Sozialwesen in Frei- spreading. The first COVID-19 fatality occurred
burg i.Br. in Germany and a Master of Divinity in March 2021 in Timor-Leste. Apparently, the
from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chi- permeable land border to Indonesia had let
cago, USA. She currently heads the MISEREOR the virus in, being brought across by people
Dialogue and Partnership office in Timor-Leste. unbeknown who had crossed the border un-
controlled, despite the government’s efforts
to reinforce security and patrols by additional
1. What measures have been taken by the police and military at the border. In the sec-
government to control the pandemic, and ond week of March 2021 Dili and seven of the
how effective have these measures been 13 Municipalities were placed under strict
so far? “lockdown” regulations: no one was allowed
out except for going to shops or markets for
From the beginning of the pandemic (March groceries, to pharmacists for medicines or to
2020) until today the main measure of the medical consultation. All shops selling other
government of the Democratic Republic of items than food or medicine were closed, and
Timor-Leste to protect its people and contain restaurants could only serve take-away. Public
the spread of the COVID-19 virus has been transport such as microlets (mini buses), taxis
through a State of Emergency, renewed by and buses were not allowed to function. The
parliament on a month-to-month basis. This entire pandemic and its containment
basically means that all borders (air, land and measures have had an immense impact on the
sea) are closed, with limited and highly regu- economy and people’s livelihoods, as the ma-
lated entry into the country. Regulations limit jority of people work to feed themselves day
the number of entries and require a negative to day.
PCR-test result upon arrival and a 14-day The strict lockdown was lifted for three weeks
mandatory quarantine time (either in gov- right after Cyclone Seroja hit Timor-Leste.
ernment quarantine centers or designated Floods and landslides caused 50 lives and
hotels). In 2020, this worked mostly well, and around 40,000 people lost their homes, liveli-
after three months of strict lockdown and hoods and crops. Timor-Leste was hit by a
home confinements, Timor-Leste opened up double-crisis. Many were and are facing hun-
again whilst still adhering to major prevention ger. The lockdown was temporarily lifted in
measures, such as frequent hand-washing, order to be able to supply emergency relief to
wearing of masks and physical distancing. those most in need. It was re-instated at the
Basically, people lived internally in relative end of April and lasted until July, when the
freedom and mobility until December 2020. first COVID-19 wave in Timor-Leste officially
Throughout the year 2020, the number of ended. There was a renewed phase of opening
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