We feel the need to do something more than quarantine.

COVID19 helpful suggestions and information:

If you have even mild symptoms, assume you have the virus and protect people around you by self-quarantining. Get tested. You could be spreading the virus – even if you don’t feel bad. It might be someone vulnerable in your life who you infect. You might find out that you have antibodies – then you can help others.

Find your State Health Department here to find out about State and local testing options.

If you have had COVID19 and have recovered, a very important way of helping is to give blood so that the antibodies you have built up in your plasma can help save the lives of those currently suffering from the virus and are in the hospital. It’s apparently a simple procedure. American Red Cross Plasma Donations.

Thanks to ASE readers R. Krasny and C. Hilliard, the importance of contact tracing was brought to our attention. Contact tracing is a system of identifying individuals who might be at risk for COVID 19 because they have been in contact with active cases.

We can all can help the overwhelmed public health professionals by keeping a simple log of our daily ‘contacts’ and outings. Track – “Who we saw? For how long? Under what conditions? – especially those we were with for more than 15 minutes or closer to than 6 feet. If we ever become infected, that log will be invaluable for officials and health care workers to notify people who might have been in contact with the virus.

Another suggestion is to build a trained volunteer corps who can assist health officials in the contact tracing should the need arise. After receiving this information, I then heard the governor of Rhode Island give a press conference where she asked all the citizens of RI to do this exact task of keeping a daily log.

Tech giants Apple and Google have collaborated on a contact tracing app which will track the movement of an infected person’s phone to help find others who may have been exposed to the virus. It may be available mid-May. For more information go to TechCrunch article.

Help Support Your Favorite Restaurants

Some experts estimate that two thirds of restaurants may go out of business. To support your local favorites, order take-out or buy gift certificates. You will lose the value of your gift certificate if the restaurant does not re-open, but you will have helped support the business and hopefully keep people employed.

Rally For Restaurants is a grass-roots response to Covid and the challenges sheltering in place has placed on restaurants. They make it easy to search for your favorite restaurant and purchase a gift certificate. Rally for Restaurants.

Offer to shop for friends and neighbors in the highest risk categories. They may need to shelter in place even after many people can go out.

Make extra donations to the non-profits you support. They almost certainly face greater need among those they serve – and many have canceled their fundraising events. In light of the uncertain economy, many non-profits are fearing a major reduction in annual donations in the following years.

Donate children’s books and games to shelters in your area.

Commit “Random acts of kindness”. Our daughter made Easter baskets for the older people in her building which included hand sanitizer and treats. She left them outside doors anonymously – and found handmade cards taped to her door the next morning. People are looking for signs that we are ‘all in this together’ and grateful to be looking after each other.

Support first responders

Offer to sponsor a meal or treats for first responders – at a local hospital, the fire and police stations, shelters and any other place that people are on the front lines.

Offer to walk a dog for a first responder, run an errand, do a load of laundry or drop off groceries. You can show that you care – and many of these dedicated professionals are getting mighty tired by now.