But the voice on the other end of the line did in fact belong to the former first lady. Obama has teamed with Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser to launch a public outreach campaign in the District this week featuring pre-recorded phone calls to encourage the city’s residents to seek free coronavirus testing if they show symptoms of the virus.
“On behalf of Mayor Bowser, I wanted to share information on free coronavirus testing for District of Columbia residents experiencing symptoms,” Obama says on the recorded call, asking listeners to “please contact your medical provider immediately” should they experience symptoms including a fever or cough.
“You can schedule a free testing appointment by contacting your medical provider or calling the DC Hotline,” she adds, providing the phone numbers to schedule services in English or in Spanish. The calls will go out to DC residents this and next week.
Bowser — whose city has seen over 4,000 cases and over 200 deaths from the virus — thanked Obama for her support for the testing efforts.
“We know a critical part of fighting this disease and ultimately reopening our city is expanded testing, particularly among our most vulnerable populations,” Bowser said in a statement Monday. “We are grateful to first lady Obama for joining our effort to let residents know about free testing and for encouraging DC to stay home.”
Bowser ordered the closure of nonessential businesses in DC from March 25 through April 24, telling CNN earlier this month that the city doesn’t a peak medical surge until June. She has spoken out against elements of the national coronavirus response, calling it “infuriating” that District of Columbia was treated like a “territory” after it was allocated $725 million less than the states in the $2 trillion coronavirus response bill, as well as urging for a national focus to collect data on coronavirus deaths in communities of color.
The phone call is Obama’s latest push to support those impacted by the coronavirus.
Earlier this month, she announced a weekly livestreamed story time to “give kids an opportunity to practice their reading (while giving families a much-needed break!)” She also made an appearance during the Global Citizen “One World: Together At Home” televised concert special, along with fellow former first lady Laura Bush, thanking healthcare workers and first responders.
Obama and the non-partisan organization she co-chairs have also thrown support behind Democratic legislation seeking to expand access to mail-in voting and early voting amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
She has also shared the Obama family’s experience during the outbreak, telling talk show host Ellen DeGeneres in March that she and former President Barack Obama are trying to establish a routine with their daughters Malia and Sasha home from college.
“On the positive side, I know for us, it’s forced us to continue to sit down with each other, have real conversations, really ask questions and figure out how to keep ourselves occupied without just TV or computers,” she said in the interview. “It’s a good exercise in reminding us that we just don’t need a lot of the stuff that we have.”
