Dear MoveOn member,
News about the COVID-19 coronavirus is breaking all around us at an
unprecedented speed: Thousands of new cases in the U.S. have been
discovered so far, hospitals are bracing for a massive influx of people
needing care, schools are being closed, businesses are temporarily closing
or moving online, and more. And new guidelines are being released daily on
how we can stop the spread of the virus.
Social distancing is the biggest way that we can make a difference,
because it will help "flatten the curve" of the virus—interrupting the
spread of the virus and ensuring that masses of people don't get sick at
once, which would overwhelm our fragile health care system and cost an
unknown number of lives.
[ [link removed] ]How social distancing flattens the curve of coronavirus and saves
lives.
Many of us are already practicing social distancing, but too many people
are still gathering in groups. If you have not yet, will you commit to
social distance now? And if you are already social distancing, will you
sign the commitment and share it with your friends and family?
[ [link removed] ]Will you commit to #FlattenTheCurve? Click here to make and share the
commitment now.
We know it's possible to spread the virus for days before showing
symptoms. It's our responsibility to protect ourselves and
others—especially those who are elderly or immunocompromised. Our
commitment to stay home now is essential to stopping the virus and saving
lives.
Together, here's how we're going to #FlattenTheCurve:
1. Follow the lead of health experts and regularly wash our hands for 20
seconds with soap and keep our hands away from our faces.
2. Stay home and avoid public places if we can, which will help keep
people who cannot—medical staff, grocery workers, and others—safer.
This is called "social distancing," and we all need to do as much as
we are able.
3. If we do go outside, we'll keep our distance! Health officials are
recommending we limit contact with each other, remaining at least 6
feet apart. It's important that we all do this when we can to account
for those in our community who cannot: frontline health care workers,
service workers, and others.
4. Call on our local officials and demand that they implement social
distancing policies—or [ [link removed] ]start a petition now.
5. Call on our members of Congress to pass urgently needed economic
relief legislation so that when people follow the direction of leading
health officials, they aren't forced to make a decision between a
paycheck and stopping the spread of this coronavirus.
Some people that you might not expect are more vulnerable in this moment,
and anyone can get sick from this virus or be a carrier. We can all take
action by social distancing to decrease the threat.
This is also about social justice and equity. Communities of color are
more likely to have respiratory problems like asthma, because they are
more likely to have harmful environmental pollution from things like
factories. People with chronic or acute health challenges or disabilities
are at a higher risk if they can't get the care they need because
hospitals are devoting 100% of their care to coronavirus patients.
That's why it's crucial that everyone do their part to interrupt the
spread of this virus and stop our health care systems from becoming
overwhelmed. But we need to act now.
MoveOn members have played a meaningful role in responding to many crises
facing our nation and the world. We've come together to support
communities devastated by climate disasters, including raising more than
$3 million for victims of Hurricane Maria, providing housing for families
displaced by Hurricane Katrina, and more. Together, we've prevented
seemingly inevitable marches to war and repeatedly saved the Affordable
Care Act. And now we must meet this moment.
When we practice social distancing, we prevent the trajectory of the virus
from skyrocketing, which can ensure that our hospitals won't be
overwhelmed and people will be able to receive the care they need to
survive this virus.
[ [link removed] ]Will you commit to step up and do everything you can to
#FlattenTheCurve? Once you've committed, please share with us how you're
planning to create social distance—and we'll share these ideas and
commitments over social media to give other members ideas and show
solidarity in social distancing and flattening the curve.
Thanks for all you do.
–Corinne, Isbah, Ann, Amy, and the rest of the team
P.S. For the most up-to-date information on how you can help prevent the
spread of COVID-19 in your community, visit the websites of the [ [link removed] ]Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention and the [ [link removed] ]World Health Organization.
P.P.S. MoveOn has been a virtual workspace for more than 20 years. If you
now find yourself unexpectedly working remotely or know others who are in
the midst of this crisis, [ [link removed] ]here are some tips from members of our team
that you may find useful.
Want to support our work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day
by day and year by year, to resist Trump's agenda, contain the damage,
defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation's
pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must
never give up on. And to do it we need your support, now more than ever.
Will you stand with MoveOn?
[ [link removed] ]Click here to chip in $3, or whatever you can afford.
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