Community action is vital in the fight against Covid-19. Every additional case is a strain on a healthcare system that is woefully unprepared. The best way to contain and slow the spread is by taking actions that will protect yourself and those around you. Each of us is only as healthy as our least-infected neighbor. Call it patriotism, community spirit, or altruism; the fact is that widespread action is the sole tonic to what ails us. Do not despair. Here are concrete actions you can take to make a difference today.

· Take Responsibility

o Educate yourself. Learn about handwashing, social distancing, and fomites (non-living items which harbor the virus).

o Wear gloves, wash hands, don’t touch your face (including mouth, eyes, and ears). This behavior will encourage others and is the minimum you should do to protect yourself and your family.

o Clean everything around you, even things you don’t personally use. Every case is another strain on community resources, by fastidiously cleaning commonly touched surfaces you are protecting the elderly and vulnerable in your community. By extension you are protecting yourself and your loved ones, as these cases are the ones which will gum up the healthcare system most.

o Make informed decisions when stocking up for possible quarantines- you do need shelf-stable food, you probably don’t need batteries or bottled water (unless your tap is not safe for drinking).

o If you can afford extra food for your neighbors or family, purchase it and distribute it so they are able to stay away from the crowded stores.

· Educate

o Tell your friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors the risks of the virus

o Explain hand-washing procedures, do demos if possible. Think of an unexpected song a lot of people know and use that as the wash-timer. Tell others they should think of their own handwashing song to help them remember

o Explain proper PPE procedures for non-medical settings, such as using disposable gloves (non-sterile, leave those for HCPs).

o Guilt those with n95s and other pro-level PPE into donating any extra stock, or if they are going to don an n95 guilt them into using it for the full rated duration by doing things such as shopping for their neighbors/family.

o Encourage those around you to think of this like a war, we are all in it together, and healthcare providers are the front-line soldiers. Impress upon contacts that they can actively help their community by taking small steps.

· Canvass

o Go to your local gas station, coffee shops, mechanic, etc, and explain the heightened risk customer-facing roles incur.

o Talk to managers or owners and explain that customers won’t want to shop if they think the store has poor hygiene practices. Understand that a business owners first thought is currently still revolving around paying bills, make the case that their economic future depends on proper precautions.

o Bring pairs of disposable gloves if you can spare some, pack them in zip-top bags and hand out to those who interact most with the populace. Impress that gloves are only a stop-gap and disinfection and hand-washing is still vital.

o Shut Down Misinformation and Answer questions CORRECTLY. If you don’t know something for a fact, pull out your phone and look it up. If someone says something you know is untrue (homeopathy etc), find a reputable source and send it to them.

o Be outgoing, be confident, and understand that this action will be hard at first while people are still adjusting to the fact that the virus is actively spreading in your community. Don’t be pompous and don’t be incredulous when people shut you down. Recognize that while not every person will listen to you, those who do can make real change.





· Set up Volunteer Groups

o If you have a lot of friends who are willing to help in the effort, create a message group on FB/discord/slack/etc. Share information such as which hospitals need more PPE, which elderly or poor are out of food

o Create group goals and share in each other’s success, console each other during failures. Group goals can include action items like “disinfect all doorknobs in my apartment building”, or “talk to 10 people about handwashing”

o Praise members who accomplish group goals to encourage others to add their efforts.

o If group members understand disinfection procedures and are prepared to go into the community (especially non-medical PPE owners), start a glove distribution to customer-facing workers

· Start a Donation Drive

o If you are in a rich or well-prepared area, start donation drives.

o Determine a need and figure out how to fill it. Bring in the most effective people in your circle and make them a part of the effort, whether that be posting on social media, soliciting donations at work, or collecting supplies.

o Direct Relief, Red Cross, and others are actively working to protect HCPs in this time, find a charity that you believe is making a difference in the fight against the virus and work towards what they need (cash or items).