Citizen campaign says “It’s Up to Me” to keep citizens, schools and economy safe from the virus.
(October 29, 2020) An emergency campaign to protect Roseau County citizens from the dangers of the Coronavirus pandemic has been launched with the leadership of the county’s Emergency Management office.
“Because infections are rising here and in surrounding areas, the time is now to take urgent action to control the COVID-19 virus,” said Sue Grafstrom, the office’s director.
Grafstrom, with participation from business and community leaders throughout the county, have created a campaign entitled “It’s Up to Me” – Roseau County coming together to stop the spread of COVID-19.
A member of the campaign planning committee, Brenda Sather, Sr. Vice-President, Chief Risk Officer of Border Bank, said, “It’s urgent that we call upon our citizens to take personal responsibility to contain the spread of this disease.”
The campaign will engage people from throughout the community to send the important messages about safe behavior to their own networks. There will be appeals from students, parents, medical leaders, business leaders, religious leaders, outdoors enthusiasts, seniors and others. They’ll be sending messages about “It’s Up to Me” through social media, print media, broadcast media, newsletters, blogs and many more channels.
“Only this week, White House pandemic advisor Dr. Deborah Birx identified Minnesota – including Greater Minnesota – as a danger zone. This is true in Roseau County where numbers have doubled in a short period of time,” Grafstrom said.
Another member of the planning group, Brenda Baumann, Director of Discovery & Development Hub said, “We must work together to keep our citizens safe, especially as we will all be spending more time indoors, where the spread of the virus is most dangerous.”
“We need this information to ripple throughout our Roseau County communities,” Ms. Baumann said.
Grafstrom said the crucial and life-saving information messages of the campaign are straightforward and have been consistently communicated by the CDC, Minnesota Department of Health and LifeCare Medical Center: Please stay smart. Protect yourself, your family and community. Wear that mask, distance yourself, avoid gatherings, and wash your hands repeatedly. Please keep your guard up. It’s really not that difficult, and everyone can participate. “It’s Up to Me.”
Ms. Baumann said, “We want people to adopt an attitude that each person is responsible for keeping schools open, keeping businesses running and keeping vulnerable relatives safe. We want them to ask themselves, ‘What can I do to save lives and keep our communities safe?’”
Grafstrom said, “We know it’s natural to want to want this pandemic to just go away. But if we ignore precautions, it won’t go away. It will only get worse. So together, let’s stop it by saying ‘It’s Up to Me.’”
Last modified: 10/29/2020
