Dear Comrade,

Our chapter's website now hosts a specific page dedicated to compiling news, resources and links to external support networks. This page will be continuously updated to reflect new information, regulations, guidelines and relief networks. The goal is to create a consistent place where our members and communities can go to find consistent information related to the spread of COVID-19. Please feel free to share this page externally.

Currently, the page provides updates from the DC government, links to government sponsored relief programs (such as unemployment insurance or other public benefits), links to support and relief networks, and health awareness resources. Any member interested in helping compile resources and information, or assist in developing the page, are invited to join this effort. Please reach out to [email protected] or through #publications or #coronavirus channels on Slack.

Additionally, the national DSA is holding a mass call regarding COVID-19 TODAY at 8:30 PM EDT. On the call, DSA members across the country will discuss the work being done in demanding for a response to the hardship and suffering caused by COVID-19 that puts people over profit. You can find additional RSVP information here.

Our actions as a chapter should continue to be informed by guidance from public health authorities and the CDC guidelines for community and faith faith organizations. The DC City Government has declared both a state of emergency and a public health emergency, and have banned large public gatherings. While this technically does not apply to most MDC DSA events, we are out of abundance of caution continuing to recommend against in-person meetings, when possible. Given the importance of our organizing work, we have made digital conferencing tools available to make sure organizing can occur remotely. Please submit a request through the Red Desk, and we will be in touch.

The Steering Committee also asks that all comrades who feel ill to take care of themselves by staying at home and resting. If possible, they should feel free to participate remotely in organizing, but for their own safety--and the safety of their comrades--should not attend in-person events. We encourage all members to wash their hands frequently and follow all CDC advice.

Finally, as socialists we must note two things. First, some on the right, including the occupant of the Oval Office, have attempted to use the coronavirus to spread xenophobia and racism. We reject xenophobia and racism and stand in solidarity with those communities being demonized, maligned, or scapegoated. Second, the potentially devastating impact of the coronavirus has been exacerbated by the United States’s for-profit health care system. Healthcare is a human right. Public health services are a public good. Many working class people lack access not only to health care, but paid sick leave. The decision to prioritize the profit and greed of a few over over the needs of the many endangers everyone. Our fight for a socialist future is all the more urgent.