Australians were shocked out of their complacency last week when the coronavirus pandemic swept towards us at a frightening speed.
The virus is so new that little is known about it. We do know that it is highly contagious and can be deadly to vulnerable people.
In Australia, sadly, we saw misinformation and fear spread much more quickly than the virus.
It started as a run on toilet paper and quickly spread to dried and canned goods. Then it hit fresh food, meat and medicines.
It soon descended into people fighting over loo paper and the elderly being rammed by shopping trolleys.
So why are we behaving like animals?
This is the price we pay for the digital age where we have the 24-hour news cycle and social media which allows us to share our fears - and information which may or may not be true.
We can gain information quickly but it also allows anxiety and misinformation to spread like wildfire.
We are facing an unknown threat and are seeking information. Clear, consistent and regular updates from a reliable source would help settle our nerves.
Learning from the fires
The bushfires which ripped through Australia this summer were devastating but they brought out the best in people. On the whole, people were kind and generous during this summer’s bushfire season. There were stories about people driving hundreds of kilometres to cook for tired firefighters and we all opened our wallets.
So what brought out the best in us? Part of it was the feeling of sympathy for those who had lost everything.
And part of it was the clear, consistent and regular messages coming from our fire chiefs and governments. People were given clear instructions about what to do and where to go. As a result, they didn’t panic. They acted in a calm and considered way.
One of the big lessons from the 2009 Victorian Bushfire royal commission was to improve the way officials communicated with the public during fires.
In times of uncertainty, we are seeking information. We want to hear from our leaders – even it if is to say: ‘Things are changing and we will keep you informed.’
The 2019-2020 summer bushfires showed the result when it is done well.
What we need to hear
In our latest emergency, the Covid-19 pandemic, Australians needed to hear from their leaders. But the messages we got about coronavirus in the first two months were not clear. The messages were diluted, delayed and confusing.
And our leaders should have had their key messages worked out once the news broke in Wuhan. We should have been told:
wash your hands
cover your mouth when you cough
keep your distance from others if you are unwell
things are changing but we will keep you informed.
Then we should have heard these messages repeated so often that we were sick of hearing them. Hearing these key messages repeated over and over would have calmed us.
However, this did not happen.
A compounding factor is that we now have a 24-hour news cycle and the media has hours of airtime to fill. The media has also used various other sources to fill the gap left by having no official and accessible spokesperson. This has undermined the consistent line from government. These contradictory sources have often been alarmist, leading to panic. This has created confusion and undermined the message.
And the result of a lack of clear key messages? Empty supermarket shelves.
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