Coronavirus in Our Own Communities
By Susan Flansburg
Everyone I know is worried … and should be. The latest findings confirm that COVID-19 is spread simply through breathing, even without coughing. Whenever possible, we should stay home and away from crowds.
But there’s more. There’s our neighbors and community members. What can we do, as individuals, for them? I have a few ideas, and would welcome more from you!
1. Provide sick leave to anyone we employ, whether in our business or in our home. Alan and I have no employees per se, but we do pay someone to clean our home. We will pay her if she gets sick, or if we get sick and she cannot come in for fear of catching it from us. It’s the right thing to do.
2. If we won’t go to stores or services - and who would blame us for laying low?? - we can phone in orders for gift certificates from the small, locally owned businesses we want to help support, to be used when the viral threat is over.
Those businesses are LOCALLY OWNED restaurants, salons, retail outlets, et cetera. (The big chains have CEOs who can fund their own operations without our help.)
Some small Quad-City-area businesses Alan and I support include:
Crafted QC, Cool Beanz Coffee Shop, Dwellings, Theo & Co, Davenport School of Yoga, Isabel Bloom, A Taste of Ethiopia, Calla, Sunlight Yoga Center, and many more. If they don’t have a way to buy a gift certificate online, remember they are small, small businesses. Please call them!
Many great places could use our support right now. Please consider supporting your favorites!
3. Keep phoning and texting friends and neighbors to make sure they feel healthy. If they feel like they’re getting a fever, tell them to call their doctor right away.
4. If someone is sick, deliver what they need to them. Leave it on the porch. Walk their dog (bring your own leash and dog bags). Make sure everyone has the food, medicine and supplies they need.
5. Here’s a great suggestion: If you have tickets to canceled theater or events in the world of the arts, consider NOT asking for a refund. Maybe it will help someone receive a paycheck.
6. Another great suggestion: Donate money or food to food pantries right now. You don’t - and probably shouldn’t! - leave the comfort of your home to do so. Do it online! Here’s where to do it in the Quad Cities.