The Latin American Jewish Congress, an affiliate of the World Jewish Congress, has been working with various local Jewish communities to implement crisis management plans in response to the recent coronavirus outbreak. Danilo Gelman, who oversees crisis management for the Latin American Jewish Congress, spoke to the media about his dialogue with community leaders regarding the proper methods for contending with the spread of the coronavirus and the accompanying obstacles.
“Experience has shown that being prepared is a crucial factor in crisis management," Gelman said. “The virus and the actions being taken to contain it will impact the routine of life in the communities. The next few days will be crucial to contain the pandemic. The better we are prepared, the sooner we will recover.”
Mariano Mirelman, executive director of the Jewish Community of Paraguay said, “You always think of the Jewish community, you can think in terms of crises regarding situations related to terrorism or security, but this pandemic has shown us in practice that having protocols, area specialists and having exercised has put us in some a place of advantage to respond to the community unlike other civil society groups." He added that because of his conversation with Gelman he is more comfortable planning in advance of a crisis as well reacting and analyzing a crisis management situation.