Leadership in the Time of Coronavirus (COVID-19)

I received my Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and epidemiology was my favorite subject.

When the West African Ebola outbreak started in 2014, I was part of an aid worker Skype group that coordinated data around the humanitarian response.

The public health system undertakes pandemic preparedness to be ready for a time like this. Almost everyone underestimates how much can be done to prevent more cases with simple behavior change.

Let me say that again, because this is a message social media needs to hear. Individual and community behavior change can slow down the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic, giving us time to properly respond.

So much is up to us and what we decide to do next.

Informed, Empowered Action

I know it can be scary to look at the numbers and navigate. But when we're in a fear response, we're not making the best decisions for ourselves or our communities.

Moving out of the amygdala, the part of the brain that governs the fight or flight response, is easier said than done. Particularly when work takes you far from your family, your partner, and your friends. Without a strong social support system around us, we’re more likely to feel panicked and anxious.

But how this goes is very much up to us. 

It’s our responsibility as leaders is to model behavior that slows down the spread of transmission, so that our health systems and supply chains have a better chance to respond.

The slower the virus moves, the better. Our actions are what makes us vectors, hubs where the virus can multiply and spread.

Here are some things being done by organizations, governments, and businesses around the world that have helped reduce the number of new cases of COVID-19. They are low-cost responses that all of us, with some focused determination, can put into action right now.

Leaders are influencers, so I hope this helps you consider your role in pandemic preparedness and response. It's not just about you not getting infected, but about you not becoming a vector that spreads the virus to the most vulnerable around you.

Many people are disabled, elderly, immunocompromised, or otherwise more at risk of getting the virus, so we need to do our part to protect them too.

Let’s empower ourselves to spread this information faster than the virus, and support widespread behavior change wherever, and with whoever, we meet.

5 Ways to Slow the Spread of COVID-19

1. Wash your hands with soap and water.

This is what you always hear because it always works. The COVID-19 virus has a fat covering that bursts after contact with soap. Lather up your hands and clean each finger, especially around your nails and any jewelry, for the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday — twice.

Hand washing is especially important before preparing food, eating, brushing your teeth, and any other time you touch your face.

2. Avoid touching your face.

Only touch your face when you've just washed your hands. Hand-to-face is the vector where the virus is literally picked up.

Many of us have physical habits where we touch our face, even if we don’t want to admit it…Like when we itch our noses, rub our eyes, or hold our chins. Sorry, but those need to stop.

From now on, when you sneeze or cough, cover your mouth with your elbow — not your hand — so you don't spread anything. Be patient as behavior change takes time to learn.

Don't be hard on yourself when you accidentally touch your face, just try not to do it again and don't give up.

3. Limit unnecessary physical contact.

 It’s a good idea to avoid shaking hands and hugging people you're not already in regular physical contact with. Until our health systems get a better picture of the incidence and spread of corona virus COVID-19, we need to be cautious.

For vulnerable people, this may very well be a matter of life or death. If someone reaches to shake your hand, the reflex can be automatic. To not reach out back can feel awkward and uncomfortable. 

It’s our responsibility to take action to protect the people around us, and that starts with protecting ourselves.

4. If you're sick, stay at home.

For colleagues on day-rates and working admin or other service-oriented jobs, staying home when you’re sick may seem impossible. When our income is tied to the time we work, there isn't much of a safety net to take care of ourselves.

This added vulnerability can have a domino effect on the spread of the virus, though. And someone going to work while having the virus is going to be way harder on their body too.

It's important that employers support workers with generous paid sick days, so that their workforce and customers don’t also become infected via contact at work.

Many aid workers (like me) are contractors and not paid for sick days, and this creates a similar dynamic.

Around the world, we are going to see the impact of paid sick leave on different organizations’ and health systems’ ability to handle this emergency.

5. Don't stockpile supplies, especially not masks.

At this point, given the importance of a well-functioning health system, only health workers should be wearing masks. This is because health workers need masks as a barrier to stop the spread of infection between patients.

This is important, so let me say that again: leave the masks for the health workers. Right now, as I’m writing this, masks and other protective equipment are in short supply in most places around the world.

Same goes with suddenly trying to purchase a 3-week supply of bottled water, soap, or any other commodity. Do your part and don't put extra stress on the supply chain system.

Supply chains need time to adapt to stress, and we don't want them to break. Hoarding commodities for yourself drives the price up and makes things harder for everyone —even you — in the long run.

 *

Contrary to what neoliberal economists like to believe, we are not isolated or rational actors within a market system, but human beings connected to each other in all kinds of complex ways.

Our ability to withstand a global pandemic of COVID-19 is a direct measure of our humanity and how well we are able to collaborate.

When we work together to strengthen our interconnected systems, we are better able to weather what lies ahead.

The Ebola epidemics in Africa ended because people changed their behavior and the virus could no longer spread.

When we decide not to be vectors, and stop transmission through our direct and informed action, we take control over the impact of the virus on our lives.

We are the ones that can change things, if we are willing to show leadership.

Some of these preventative actions will be harder than others, but keep at it. Never give up on yourself.

Doing these simple things for as long as there is a risk can make the difference for you, your family and friends, and your community — especially the most vulnerable.

Our choices determine what happens next.

It's up to you and me, together.