We wanted to tell you what we are doing to reduce the harm of the coronavirus.
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Friend,
It is a time of concern, crisis, and unknowns. We wanted to tell you what we are doing to reduce the harm of the coronavirus, and let you know various steps you can take to protect your family, friends, and community. Here is our topline message: absolutely every one of us has a role to play.
First, everyone needs to take this seriously and understand the impact that we all have in helping to reduce the spread of coronavirus. While this seems to have a higher rate of severity for seniors and people with existing health complications, everyone can get and carry this, even when they are not showing any symptoms. That means we all have a role to play to protect our families, friends, and communities by taking steps to socially distance ourselves right now.
What is social distancing, and why is it so important? This helpful simulation from the Washington Post breaks down the impact healthy, low-risk people can have on protecting the broader community.
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The CDC recommends that everyone should:
Limit your exposure to large crowds and groups as much as possible
Don’t shake hands (give a point and a smile)
Stay at least six feet from other people when you can
Avoid unnecessary travel
Practice good hygiene: frequently wash your hands, for 20 seconds each time
Second, at FWD.us we're trying to lead by example: we moved all our employees to work-from-home 10 days ago and eliminated work travel. Not everyone can do this, but if employers can encourage their staff to work from home, we hope they will do so immediately. You're helping those who can't — because social distancing is the most important action to help stop the spread of this virus.
Third, employers should guarantee paid sick leave to ensure that sick employees stay home. Not everyone can work from home — and just because you are working from home doesn't mean you should have to work if you're sick. This is vital because even people who are less likely to develop extremely severe symptoms can in fact still get extremely sick, and also they can transmit the virus to everyone across the community. We need to stop that; doing so is absolutely critical to reducing the severity of this crisis.
This crisis will likely disproportionately harm the most vulnerable populations in this country, including those hurt by our broken immigration and criminal justice systems. There are specific policy changes that should happen immediately. We call on any elected leaders who can to take action right now.
Share our post on the steps we need to take to protect vulnerable populations right now.
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We're going to need to mobilize as a nation to prepare a recovery that is focused on the people who are going to be hurt most by this. In the days and weeks to come, we'll be communicating about the steps you can tell your federal, state, and local elected leaders to take.
In the meantime: remember that each and every one of us is different, but we can all take meaningful steps to limit the spread of this disease. We can and must be united against this common threat.
Thank you for standing together in this difficult time,
Todd Schulte
President, FWD.us
PS - Want to help health care workers working on the frontlines with vulnerable populations? Contribute $5 to support our friends at Global Response Management who help thousands of asylum-seeking families at the US/MX border and are currently preparing for the worst as the virus spreads.
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FWD.us
PO Box 15015
Washington, D.C. 20003
