Millennials got the spotlight in a Rose Garden press briefing. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, had an important message on March 16 about the younger generation: “They are the core group that will stop this virus.”
Birx and the rest of the task force stressed that to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, people should limit their gatherings to no more than 10 people — not just in bars and restaurants, but in homes.
So, why the focus on millennials instead of other generations? “They’re the ones who are out and about,” Birx said. Furthermore, millennials can carry the virus and infect others without displaying symptoms or knowing they have it.
Take one look at social media from over the weekend of March 14 and 15, and you would conclude that we’re doomed. Streets filled with bargoers who were determined to drink even if the St. Patrick’s Day parade was canceled. Tweets from Boston, New Orleans, New York, Pittsburgh, Washington, and other cities went viral (no pun intended) for all the wrong reasons as people packed together in crowded bars. Clearwater, Florida, went viral on March 16 as spring-breakers packed beaches, despite the spread of the virus in that state.
So, it was no surprise that Birx followed up on March 17: “We’re asking the younger generations to stop going out in public places to bars and restaurants and spreading asymptomatic virus onto countertops and knobs and grocery stores and grocery carts.”
But that’s not the whole story when it comes to millennials and this virus. As Birx said the day prior, “They intuitively know how to contact each [other] without being in large social gatherings.” And that’s exactly what millennials did.
“Like this post and message me if you would be interested in volunteering to deliver supplies/groceries in the [Washington, D.C.,] area to immunocompromised, elderly, or otherwise vulnerable individuals,” one Facebook post read on March 13. “Young, healthy people with cars are here to happily lend a hand.” Shortly after, several millennials formed the D.C.-area COVID-19 Grocery Getters group on Facebook. By March 17, more than 230 people were ready to help their vulnerable neighbors.
Elsewhere in the country, churches and other religious institutions are making sure at-risk groups limit their exposure to the virus and get what they need.
As Birx said, millennials are the most important generation in the fight against the coronavirus. While more and more bars close to partiers, the millennials who can help their neighbors in need get groceries and other essentials are ready to help for as long as necessary, even after the coronavirus is gone.
