Abstract
On March 11, 2020, the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Approximately 19.3 million people have now been infected and over 700,000 have died. This global public health crisis has since cascaded into a series of challenges for leaders around the world, threatening both the health and economy of populations. This paper attempts to compartmentalise leadership aspects, allowing a closer examination of published reports and the analysis of current outcomes, thus enabling the authors to formulate a number of evidence-based recommendations on the de-escalation of restrictions.