The Impact of the "First Wave" of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Municipalities in the South Moravian Region: The Mayors' Perspective

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to identify the impacts of the first wave of the pandemic Covid-19 in 2020 on the management and performance of the municipal agenda in the South Moravian Region in the Czech Republic. The research was conducted through the method of semi-structured interviews with ten mayors of municipalities of distinct size categories. The research questions focused on various aspects of municipal functioning (municipal management, implementation of support measures for the elderly and entrepreneurs, and communication with citizens...), on which the mayors commented based on their own experience. The results show that the municipal governments and municipal authorities in the first wave of Covid-19 played a key role in terms of providing medical supplies and support to the local population and entrepreneurs, although they faced some constraints, such as a lack of communication and information from public authorities or problematic behavior of citizens. The research also suggests that already in the first wave of the pandemic, the introduction of modern communication tools in the municipalities took place.