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| Coronavirus Has Opened the Corporate Email Floodgates | Coronavirus Has Opened the Corporate Email Floodgates |
| (2 months later) | |
| Maybe it was that one store where you shopped while on vacation a few years ago, or perhaps that online service that you used just last week, but it’s all the same message: Businesses have flooded everyone on their email lists with coronavirus updates, tips on staying healthy and words of encouragement — much to people’s dismay. | Maybe it was that one store where you shopped while on vacation a few years ago, or perhaps that online service that you used just last week, but it’s all the same message: Businesses have flooded everyone on their email lists with coronavirus updates, tips on staying healthy and words of encouragement — much to people’s dismay. |
| “Thanks to the Insta ad that lured me into buying a pair of everyday/gym-to-office/rugged/softest/all-weather/spill-proof/hidden pocket pants for sending me 6 emails to let me know how their company is dealing with #coronavirus,” one user said on Twitter. | “Thanks to the Insta ad that lured me into buying a pair of everyday/gym-to-office/rugged/softest/all-weather/spill-proof/hidden pocket pants for sending me 6 emails to let me know how their company is dealing with #coronavirus,” one user said on Twitter. |
| “Is anyone else now only realizing how many company email subscriptions they’re part of? Thanks, company I booked a gig ticket through five years ago, I’m glad you’re also disinfecting your offices #coronavirus,” said another. | “Is anyone else now only realizing how many company email subscriptions they’re part of? Thanks, company I booked a gig ticket through five years ago, I’m glad you’re also disinfecting your offices #coronavirus,” said another. |
| The email deluge, which quickly became a running joke online, raises questions about marketing practices as nonessential businesses closed shops and storefronts amid the spread of the coronavirus. | The email deluge, which quickly became a running joke online, raises questions about marketing practices as nonessential businesses closed shops and storefronts amid the spread of the coronavirus. |
| “The basic element of crisis communication is that you should say something,” said Hilary Fussell Sisco, an associate professor and chair of strategic communication at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn. | “The basic element of crisis communication is that you should say something,” said Hilary Fussell Sisco, an associate professor and chair of strategic communication at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn. |
| The emails can be an effective strategy, she said, but it depends on the person receiving them — someone who last ate at a restaurant in 2007 might dismiss its message, but a person who orders delivery twice a week will be looking for that information. | The emails can be an effective strategy, she said, but it depends on the person receiving them — someone who last ate at a restaurant in 2007 might dismiss its message, but a person who orders delivery twice a week will be looking for that information. |
| There’s also a reputational side to it, Dr. Fussell Sisco said. | There’s also a reputational side to it, Dr. Fussell Sisco said. |
| “It’s not just that I don’t want to order anything from you right now, or you’re going to be closed,” she said, adding, “Are you somebody that I want to buy from again, once all this is over, because of what your practices were?” | “It’s not just that I don’t want to order anything from you right now, or you’re going to be closed,” she said, adding, “Are you somebody that I want to buy from again, once all this is over, because of what your practices were?” |
| Some messages have included details from companies on how they’re weathering the pandemic and whether they will continue paying or providing benefits for their workers — business decisions that some consumers value more than a good sale. | Some messages have included details from companies on how they’re weathering the pandemic and whether they will continue paying or providing benefits for their workers — business decisions that some consumers value more than a good sale. |
| “Unless your company is emailing me to tell me how you’re paying your employees and contractors during this time,” one user wrote on Twitter, “I do not care for your coronavirus marketing email one bit.” | “Unless your company is emailing me to tell me how you’re paying your employees and contractors during this time,” one user wrote on Twitter, “I do not care for your coronavirus marketing email one bit.” |
| Michael Wentz, the director of digital marketing at Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y., said companies that were sending out emails with facts about the pandemic, as well as their responses to it, were demonstrating great social responsibility. | Michael Wentz, the director of digital marketing at Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y., said companies that were sending out emails with facts about the pandemic, as well as their responses to it, were demonstrating great social responsibility. |
| That, he said, gives consumers “a better understanding or appreciation for that company because they felt the need, even though they’re not obligated to and it’s not in their purview to be giving me that information.” | That, he said, gives consumers “a better understanding or appreciation for that company because they felt the need, even though they’re not obligated to and it’s not in their purview to be giving me that information.” |
| Updated June 2, 2020 | |
| Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission. | |
| Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid,” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “When you haven’t been exercising, you lose muscle mass.” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home. | |
| States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people. | |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | |
| More than 40 million people — the equivalent of 1 in 4 U.S. workers — have filed for unemployment benefits since the pandemic took hold. One in five who were working in February reported losing a job or being furloughed in March or the beginning of April, data from a Federal Reserve survey released on May 14 showed, and that pain was highly concentrated among low earners. Fully 39 percent of former workers living in a household earning $40,000 or less lost work, compared with 13 percent in those making more than $100,000, a Fed official said. | |
| Taking one’s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “normal” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’t have a thermometer (they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications. | |
| The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing. | |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | |
| If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested. | |
| But the message can be easily muddied, so businesses need to make sure their emails are cohesive and stick to one message, Mr. Wentz said. In other words, avoid dropping updates about your staff in the same email in which you send out a coupon code. | But the message can be easily muddied, so businesses need to make sure their emails are cohesive and stick to one message, Mr. Wentz said. In other words, avoid dropping updates about your staff in the same email in which you send out a coupon code. |
| David Hagenbuch, a professor of marketing at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, Pa., said companies needed to do some soul-searching before hitting the send button. | David Hagenbuch, a professor of marketing at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, Pa., said companies needed to do some soul-searching before hitting the send button. |
| If a restaurant, for example, has “very important health and safety reasons for sending the email then those motives are pretty legitimate,” he said, warning that customers know when a company sends an email just for the sake of sending one. | If a restaurant, for example, has “very important health and safety reasons for sending the email then those motives are pretty legitimate,” he said, warning that customers know when a company sends an email just for the sake of sending one. |
| “Consumers are increasingly savvy,” Professor Hagenbuch said. “As we read these emails, we can tell pretty quickly if one is being sent with the former types of reasons in mind, our health and safety, versus ones that just come across as kind of disingenuous. They’re just trying to roll with the tide.” | “Consumers are increasingly savvy,” Professor Hagenbuch said. “As we read these emails, we can tell pretty quickly if one is being sent with the former types of reasons in mind, our health and safety, versus ones that just come across as kind of disingenuous. They’re just trying to roll with the tide.” |