Govts, companies shifted COVID risk management responsibility to individuals: study

TORONTO — A new study suggests that over the course of the pandemic, governments and corporations have shifted responsibility for managing COVID-19 risk onto individuals. 

A team of three Canadian researchers examined government and corporate messaging over the first five months of the pandemic.

Their findings are presented in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research.

The researchers found that in the early days, governments and companies took decisive action to mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19.

But as the pandemic wore on, messaging shifted to urging consumers to follow guidelines such as physical distancing and mask use. 

The study’s co-authors say that although governments may have made some mistakes, citizens themselves do bear some of the burden of trying to contain the spread of the virus. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2020.

The Canadian Press