Offer to help with food and medicine deliveries
It’s worth making sure older and more vulnerable people have the things they need to stay home safely. The risk of illness is higher among them than among young people. Choosing to shop, medicate and run errands can be a life-saving help.
- Make a list of neighbors and acquaintances who are at risk and call them. Ask about their medical condition and offer your help.
- Remember to take care of your health while giving and receiving volunteer help: keep your distance, leave bags at the door, wear a mask, use card transfers instead of cash.
- stay in touch. Staying home alone contributes to growing feelings of loneliness and despair. Emotional support during an epidemic is very important.
Help the homeless
Homeless people face significant risk from the new coronavirus. Their immune systems are often weakened and the likelihood of infection is quite high. The homeless are a vulnerable category at all times. During an epidemic, they are especially defenseless.
How to help? Share an antibacterial hand sanitizer with a stray, since they don’t have the ability to wash their hands regularly. There are recipes online for how to make an antiseptic at home. Share warm clothes, a blanket, hot food or water. If you see that the person is unwell, call an ambulance and be sure to wait for it to arrive.
Donate blood
Donor organizations encourage healthy people who are feeling well to donate blood or plasma.
“As fears of coronavirus grow, low donor participation could hurt the availability of blood in hospitals, and the last thing patients should worry about is that lifesaving blood won’t be on the shelf when they need it most,” says the doctor.
So far, there is no evidence that the new coronavirus can be transmitted by blood transfusions.