Those who strive for excellence are said to be good at managing time. They always spend most of their time working on important stuff that are not urgent. As a result, when the deadline of these important tasks approach, they are best prepared for it. For instance, if they are sitting for an exam, they prepare for it months prior to the set date and because of that, they excel in that exam. Same way, if you plan to fight COVID-19 effectively, you have to act sooner rather than later to reduce the number of people it is likely to infect and claim as well. There is that element of time management that will, thus, play a role in the work of every country that aims to defeat it.
By treating COVID-19 as an important task while it is not urgent, a government can work early to implement measures that will save people. Social distancing, for example, if implemented early can lessen the spread of the disease with less people infected likely to translate into fewer deaths. Likewise, early, aggressive and widespread testing can also detect the infected population early which can then be isolated to slow down the spread of the disease. The sooner these measures are put in place, the more lives that will be rescued.
Women leaders in Germany, New Zealand and Taiwan have received praise for their battle against COVID-19. For instance, Germany has the fifth-highest number of confirmed coronavirus infections — close to 150,000. But its death rate is an order of magnitude lower than those in nearby Italy and Spain. Thanks to their swift preparations, quick implementation of social distancing and aggressive testing, lives were being saved.
In many of the hard hit areas like Italy and Spain, things were left to the last minute. All the necessary precautions have been delayed until a crisis has emerged. SARS-nCOV 2 has spread fast like a wildfire and many lost their lives. This is a clear demonstration that if the virus reaches to the point where it is urgent and important for you to act, you are lagging behind and the virus is ahead.
Are women better at time management? Are women better leaders then men? Those are all questions that are up to a debate. One thing, though, that we can agree on is effective prioritization, time management and expeditious enaction of steps to tackle the disease will work in the favor of the human life.
