Coronavirus Local Response Initiative To Provide American Mayors with Support, Response to Epidemic Threat

Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative have launched a new program of support to help American mayors respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic threat.

The Coronavirus Local Response Initiative aims to provide cities with virtual technical assistance, coaching, and accurate information to help local leaders address the public health crisis. The initiative will work to identify and document  the needs and lessons learned from cities like Seattle- which has been experiencing the outbreak – that can be shared with other cities. The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership initiative will tailor its virtual programming for mayors and bring in experts from Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School to focus on crisis leadership and crisis communications.

“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 former 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.”

“At the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, our epidemiologists, virologists, policy experts and specialists in preparedness are collaborating in efforts across all areas relevant to the coronavirus response,” said Ellen J. MacKenzie, dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “We are pleased to collaborate with Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative to offer our expertise to help local communities offer evidence-based responses.”

Interested mayors and city leaders should email coronavirusresponse@bloomberg.org.