As we watch the Covid-19 pandemic unfold, in real time, on our television and computer screens, we are observing major weaknesses in many of our essential institutions. Despite the warning from China at the beginning of this year, North Americans were unprepared for this pandemic. Before it even began, pandemic readiness work triggered by HIV and SARS epidemics had already been abandoned or scaled back for political rather than health concerns, leaving all of us vulnerable. Then there was a failure of the U.S. president to listen to the warning signals, to take responsibility for this crisis, to activate policies to produce protective equipment, to implement a national stay at home policy, and to ensure there were adequate tests to identify those who have Covid-19 and those who do not.

Our health care systems were overwhelmed by a lack of planning and resources. Our grocery and household goods supply chains were not ready for the huge upswing in online shopping and for the surge in demand for many items.

The result of these failures is that the United States is now the epicenter of the virus. Canada is also being hit hard. The pandemic is forcing millions of Canadians and Americans, other than those designated as providing essential services, to say at home to help reduce the spread of Covid-19. This necessary policy is causing the ongoing shutdown of many businesses and a loss of millions of jobs. As outlined in this article in Foreign Policy (https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/09/unemployment-coronavirus-pandemic-normal-economy-is-never-coming-back/), the “normal economy is never coming back.”

We are already seeing significant changes in our everyday lives. Many of us are becoming proficient at meeting with our family, friends and colleagues via a video conference. This trend will likely become more prevalent in our business lives after the crisis. Many people are becoming more skilled at purchasing groceries and supplies online and are taking the opportunity to upgrade their abilities in banking from home, home schooling, personal fitness, hair cutting and in a variety of other areas.

As seniors with underlying health issues, my wife and I have made the decision to commit to buying all groceries and supplies online, until the risks of this virus are greatly diminished. For the past three weeks, we have been testing a variety of online grocery service providers. This is what we have learned.

Grocery shoppers and online service providers were caught off-guard by the speed with which Covid-19 has changed purchasing behavior for both online and in-store grocery shoppers. Empty shelves and “out of stock” notifications have become the norm as self-quarantining, “panic buying,” hoarding, and the closure of restaurants and bars have dramatically altered buyer purchasing volumes. Therefore, rather than critique any specific online providers under these circumstances, I will share a few general observations on some of the challenges my wife and I have faced and offer some opportunities for improvement.

1. Expand the Range of Delivery Options

For one of Canada’ leading online grocery providers, it is nearly impossible to select a date and time for a delivery. They provide a one-month window usually with no available time slots. When you call the 1-800 line for assistance, it is always busy. You can sit at your computer all day and wait for a time slot to become available. That is not a good use of one’s time and is very stressful in these already stressful times.

These are amazing times, but this is not the first crisis that many of us have experienced. Having worked in the freight transportation industry for over 35 years, I have seen ice storms, snowstorms, SARS, mainframe crashes, tornados that have ripped the roof off buildings, the raiding of employees and customers and other challenging incidents. I have been the leader and observed other leaders guide their teams through these types of events. During this Coronavirus crisis, we have had the opportunity to observe the leaders of the U.S. government and medical emergency teams lead America through the epidemic. What are some lessons that we can all take from the events to date?

Lesson 1: Create and Maintain a Crisis Management Leader, Team and Plan

The White House had a pandemic team, but the leader left and was not replaced; the team was disbanded. These types of crises don’t happen every day; nevertheless, it is very helpful to have a leader, team and written plan for the major crises that can be anticipated. In certain parts of North America, one can anticipate a hurricane, tornado, ice storm or other type of natural or man-made disaster. The president reportedly ignored early warnings of the severity of the virus and grew angry at a CDC official who in February warned that an outbreak was inevitable.

Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans, coronaviruses cause respiratory tract infections that are typically mild, such as the common cold, though rarer forms such as SARS, MERS and COVID-19 can be lethal. Most coronaviruses aren't dangerous. But In early 2020, after a December 2019 outbreak in China, the World Health Organization (WHO) identified a new type, 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), which can be fatal. The organization named the disease it causes COVID-19.

The outbreak quickly moved from China around the world. It spreads the same way other coronaviruses do - - - through person-to-person contact. Symptoms can show up anywhere from 2 to 14 days after exposure. Early on, they're a lot like the common cold. You might notice:

• Fever

• Cough

Watching the Impeachment trial of President Donald J. Trump over the past two weeks has been a depressing experience. The trial essentially ended on January 31 when 51 Republican senators voted to not see any further witnesses or documents. This decision has huge implications for America and is another step on the downward descent that the country has been on over the past three years.

The most obvious impact of this trial is that it is a deadly blow to America’s systems of government and justice. For years, America has taken justifiable pride in its system of checks and balances. Most trials in the U.S. have witnesses, a presentation of documents and cross-examination so that the case of the prosecution and defense can be challenged in a fair and balanced way.

For Impeachment trials of senior government officials, including the president, America has rules with respect to the process of submitting evidence and which evidence can be exempted through executive privilege. For the first time in the history of Senate Impeachment trials, there were no witnesses and no submission of documents relevant to the case. When a key witness, with evidence directly relevant to this case, volunteered to come before the senate, he, along with other testimony and witnesses were blocked. The president claimed blanket executive privilege on all White House witnesses and documents.

By voting 51 to 49 for no witnesses and documents, the senate effectively gave the president a free hand in performing other dubious acts of this nature and in impeding the process of conducting a fair trial. Yesterday a key check and balance was removed, and America’s democracy and system of justice regressed. The reasons for this action are obvious.