‘Everyone wants to do their bit': The volunteers sewing scrubs for NHS workers

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.

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.

Across the world, communities are beginning to use a variety of different methodologies to better connect with their neighbors during the coronavirus pandemic. From social media to public Google documents, neighborhoods are working together to combat loneliness during social distancing and help make sure the most vulnerable have the necessities.

As restaurants across the nation have been forced to close their doors during the coronavirus pandemic, some are turning to creative means to help account for the loss of revenue. In Philadelphia, restaurants have created a virtual tip jar to encourage patrons to "donate a tip" to a person or business while in San Francisco a restaurant owner has created a Facebook group that helps connect out of work servers with childcare jobs.

To limit exposure during coronavirus testing, South Korea began piloting drive-thru test sites that allow those being tested to remain in their cars. The drive-thru, which sends results to the patient via text message three days later, has tested nearly 400 people in one day, helping to ease pressure oncovi other testing sites.

Health care workers at the University of Washington are now able to get tested for coronavirus via a drive-through. Providing both convenience and safety by limiting exposure of the potentially ill, the test only takes five minutes and those tested usually get their results within a day.