Want to Help With Coronavirus? Donate To a Food Bank
And donate money, not canned food
By Zak Cheney-Rice
One thing seems clear following President Trump’s remarks on Wednesday about how his administration is handling the coronavirus pandemic: A lot of us are basically on our own. He gave no guidance about how to get tested, which will be crucial for determining how widespread the virus is and what institutional measures need to be taken to combat it. He mentioned nothing about avoiding public gatherings, a key vector for transmission. His primary countermeasure was to ban travel to Europe for 30 days — except to the U.K., for no clear reason. Meanwhile, that country has seen more coronavirus cases than many that are included in the ban; its own health minister recently tested positive.
As such, precautionary measures that might decelerate local outbreaks in the coming weeks remain largely at the discretion of everyday Americans. Some whose jobs allow for it have responded by voluntarily working from home. Others have had the choice made for them: their workplaces have closed down and gigs have dried up. Those who have children face the added dilemma of whether or not to withdraw them from school. More still have been forced to do so by schools shutting down, either in response to active coronavirus cases or preemptively to reduce the…
