Bloomberg Philanthropies to Help City Leaders Respond to Coronavirus in the United States
Washington, D.C. – Today, Bloomberg Philanthropies, working with partners at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, launched a new program of support to help American mayors respond to the rapidly evolving Coronavirus epidemic.
As the virus continues to spread through communities around the world, with devastating impact on the wellbeing of residents and local economies, it has fallen to mayors to step up to direct the response. Michael R. Bloomberg announced today at the National League of Cities 2020 Congressional City Conference in Washington, D.C. the Coronavirus Local Response Initiative that will provide cities with virtual technical assistance, coaching, and accurate information urgently needed by the local leaders on the frontlines of the public health crisis. Bloomberg Philanthropies will work with partners to identify and document, in real time, the needs and lessons learned from cities like Seattle experiencing the outbreak that can be shared with other cities eager to get ahead of the virus’ spread.
“Mayors are on the front lines of the biggest challenges facing the country, including the Coronavirus crisis,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, and three-term mayor of New York City. “But right now, there’s an enormous gap between the support the federal government is providing and the support local governments need. This new initiative — an unprecedented collaboration involving experts from Harvard and Johns Hopkins — will help fill the gap, and help local leaders work to prevent the spread of the virus and protect the social and economic well-being of communities.”
Relying on public health experts from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as well as additional researchers and clinicians from across Johns Hopkins University, the network will provide mayors with the most up-to-date information on the virus from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and help them understand how to act on it quickly, efficiently, and reliably for the benefit of their citizens...