Like the adverse effects of a terrorist attack, COVID-19 – the pandemic crippling the global community – is impacting the way we live our lives.
Changes to our daily routines have illustrated similarities in government approaches to health and security crises. It starts with language: Health Secretary Matt Hancock recently addressed NHS staff on being on the front line of “what we’ve rightly called a war”.
To respond to COVID-19, the British government has followed a similar course of action to its counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST. CONTEST relies on 4 ‘p’s’: Protect, Prevent, Pursue, and Prepare. Examining each of these in turn allows us to reflect on the cause and effect on the national population.
