COVID-19: From physical distancing to community approach

Facing the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns, the Flood Resilience Program of the Mexican Red Cross that is implemented as part of the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance (ZFRA) had to stop all community and face-to-face activities. Instead, the flood resilience team developed and implemented the “Covid-19 Community Awareness Strategy”. This case study describes how the team remotely supports 22 communities in the municipalities of Teapa and Jonuta in the state of Tabasco to cope with the Covid-19 crisis. Key awareness messages about maintaining physical distance, basic prevention measures and differences between Covid-19 and dengue were shared as audios, videos and infographics through social media and community loudspeakers. The case study presents challenges and key lessons learned.