Covid-19: Virus-stricken cities go digital to boost solidarity, wellbeing

Thousands of people in Wuhan, China are volunteering to buy groceries, get medicine, and take community members to the hospital as a means to help those that need it during the coronavirus outbreak. Although the volunteers do not knowingly transport anyone diagnosed with coronavirus, the drivers wear protective clothing during their drives, which are organized by local neighborhood committees.

Weeks before the coronavirus outbreak was declared to be a pandemic, Seoul, and other parts of South Korea set into motion a combination of "prevention and mitigation programs" that are now being touted as lessons for other countries struggling to contain the virus. Using technological advancements such as a national mobile phone alert system and mobile phone applications along with increased transparency around data collected, new reports of cases have slowed allowing the country to prepare for a potential surge later on.

Several distilleries across the U.S. are shifting gears from producing beer to instead producing hand sanitizer to play a part in addressing the coronavirus pandemic. Combatting the shortage of the product, while also promoting better hygiene, distilleries are experimenting with recipes based on federal and World Health Organization guidelines and giving the product to patrons as well as donating to charities.

As a grass-roots response to assist vulnerable populations amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, communities around the world are using social media to distribute supplies, services, and advice. One such group on Facebook, the Bristol Community Care - Covid-19 Mutual Aid, has gone viral with thousands of members seeking to help or receive help.

As restaurants look at a myriad of ways to enhance the cleanliness of their businesses in light of the coronavirus pandemic, a distillery in North Carolina chose to shift their focus from gin-making to making and distributing hand sanitizer. The owners of the distillery are also training neighboring businesses "how to use the solution responsibly," and then donating bottles of the sanitizer after they complete the session.

Amidst the coronavirus outbreak, North Carolina's health centers are relying on old methods to reach and educate uninsured and medically vulnerable patients, many of whom don't have access to the internet. Staff are posting fliers in commonly-trafficked locations, hanging signs at health centers, taking out television ads, and asking community leaders to relay hygiene guidelines by word of mouth.

Those over the age of 65 have been instructed to stay at home as much as possible during the coronavirus pandemic, so younger adults are coming together across the nation to help deliver this population essentials. Between Facebook, Nextdoor, and basic spreadsheets, communities are finding ways to provide mutual aid by connecting lower-risk neighbors with their more at-risk neighbors.

To reduce the number of people being tested unnecessarily for coronavirus, the CDC has introduced an online bot that helps people determine the severity of their symptoms. Because the United States has a limited supply of tests and medical equipment currently available, the goal of the bot is to prioritize tests for those who need them most.

As word of the coronavirus outbreak spread, so did misinformation, so the World Health Organization began working with big tech companies to put a stop to it. Collaborating with the likes of Pinterest, Google, Twitter, and Facebook, W.H.O. has posted content that disputes the incorrect information across platforms and sites in order to make "falsehoods harder to find in searches or on news streams."

Identifying the metagenomic sequencing for new outbreaks of viruses can help to better assess how the virus is spreading, which in turn helps health officials figure out how to slow down the contagion. In the midst of a coronavirus outbreak, a tool that was first used to during the SARS outbreak is now being used to track Covid-19 in under-resourced places such as Cambodia.