“In the United States, state governments have taken the lead in the pandemic response, and there are vast disparities in access to services from one location to another,” said Jean Stowell, head of MSF’s COVID-19 team in the United States. “Based on our own experience responding to infectious disease outbreaks around the world, MSF is helping organisations and health care providers in the United States adapt and apply public health guidance according to the needs and resources available in their particular communities.”

In New York City, the current epicentre of the global pandemic, over 50,000 people sleep in homeless shelters each night. MSF is partnering with local organisations to improve infection prevention and control (IPC) measures in facilities serving people who are homeless or housing insecure.

We have donated over 80 handwashing stations to places like soup kitchens and supportive housing facilities and is distributing 1,000 mobile phones to vulnerable New Yorkers who lack the essential technology needed to contact emergency and support services, including telemedicine providers.

In addition, MSF has opened a temporary shower trailer in Manhattan, offering free showers to people who currently lack access to such facilities.

We have also sent teams to assess the local needs in several other locations where people lack equitable access to pandemic response services, including in Puerto Rico, Florida and Native American communities in the southwest of the country.