Urgent COVID19 Actions

****Actions 4/21/2020****


Urgent COVID-19 State Actions:
Today will be the second week of Reopen NC rallies. This small band of nitwits is dramatically shaping the narrative around statewide stay-at-home orders. Already, we’re seeing red-state governors reopen businesses with potentially disastrous consequences. We need to let our Democratic lawmakers, especially Governor Cooper, know that we’ll have their backs if they support continuing the quarantine until medical scientists state that it is safe to return to normal. We have a whole slate of actions you can do. These actions can make a HUGE difference in helping to counter the narrative that people want to return to work, even if the risks are still there. The media is seizing on the Reopen narrative, and we need to do everything we can to counter that.

Key principles to remember:
Focus on what we want, not what we are against
When possible, link to your values and your experience
Be specific!

Polling shows that most North Carolinians trust the experts and want North Carolina to stay home until it is safe to reopen. Governor Cooper has said that in order to reopen safely, we need adequate testing, tracking and treatment to fight Covid-19. As hard as social isolation is, losing more of our people and overwhelming our health care system would be harder. Groups like ReOpenNC are funded by far-right Republican donors and gun-rights extremists. In order to beat them, we have to offer a different narrative: that in North Carolina, we keep each other safe by taking care of our communities, listening to the experts, and demanding the testing, tracking and treatment necessary to fight Covid-19. Instead of arguing with protesters on social media, we are asking folks to take one or more of the following actions to keep the focus on who we are protecting by staying home until it is safe to reopen.

Post a photo of yourself wearing your mask and holding a sign that says:
I’m staying home to protect _______.
#WeKeepEachOtherSafe

[*You can name a specific person you are staying home to protect, or name a group of people who are vulnerable, ex: I’m staying home to protect my dad, I’m staying home to protect frontline workers]

Post a photo/video thanking an essential worker for keeping us safe by doing their jobs.

Update your status, post to instagram or send a tweet. Here are some sample posts - feel free to make them your own or copy directly, and don’t forget to use the hashtag!

Staying home is hard, but it’s what we have to do to protect our healthcare workers, essential workers and vulnerable communities. #WeKeepEachOtherSafe #TrustTheExperts

North Carolina should open our economy when we have the tests, tracking and treatment needed to do so safely. #WeKeepEachOtherSafe #WhereAreTheTests

In North Carolina, we believe in taking care of each other. Right now that means staying home and staying apart to #StopTheSpread. #DoYourPart #WeKeepEachOtherSafe

.@NC_Governor we support you, supporting the science. #StayHomeSaveLives #COVID19 #StayAtHomeNC

Staying home now means the quarantine ends sooner! If you ignore the #StayAtHomeOrder it endangers everyone including healthcare workers who have to care for #COVID19 patients.  So please, for everyone's sake #StayAtHome

.@NC_Governor we support your #stayhomeNC order

Share this post from StongerNC: https://www.facebook.com/strongernc/videos/827443187747459/

Make sure to use the hashtag #WeKeepEachOtherSafe, and share and retweet other people’s posts!

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Call Your Reps:
Lawmakers are getting slammed with calls to re-open the economy from the Reopen NC nitwits. We need to be heard. Call your reps. Call your senators (if you don't get an answer, email). Call or email the governor, too. Make clear that we only want to make decisions about reopening our state based on sound medical advice from medical professionals, not quacks like Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil.

Sample Script:
Hello, I am calling to urge Rep./Sen./Gov. _______________ to maintain the current stay-at-home order. Reopening the economy at this point would put people at greater risk. It would also be counterproductive. People are still unlikely to go out in large numbers, so the economy will not significantly benefit, and reopening too quickly will only prolong the quarantine, which would further hurt these businesses. Thank you.

As always, if you have a personal story, if you are an essential employee, a healthcare worker, or have any other expertise, rely on that to make your story more compelling.

State Contact Numbers:
NC House: http://bit.ly/2CVneDK
NC Senate: http://bit.ly/2DamgAn
Governor: Phone: (919) 814-2000
Email: https://governor.nc.gov/contact/contact-governor-cooper


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Sign the People’s Platform:
The People’s platform is a petition that has been endorsed by hundreds of local grassroots platforms and calls for the state to expand Medicaid, help students, protect prisoners, and to ensure that the health and safety of all North Carolinians is protected.

Here is a link to the petition:
https://survivalandbeyond.info/platform/