Too many people across the country can’t wash their hands because their water service is turned off. This endangers all of us, especially when the most widely endorsed strategy to prevent or manage the coronavirus (COVID-19) is to wash our hands frequently. 

Water must be turned on for everyone, right now, for the safety of the entire country. That’s why we’ve been pushing both Congress in their stimulus package and governors at the state level — demanding that they stop all water shutoffs and enact long-term solutions that will ensure our water systems are funded.

This emergency has proven one thing: Withholding water costs lives and it’s time our representatives stepped up to protect us.