MARTINS FERRY — A group of business leaders is asking others to be good role models in the battle against COVID-19.

The newly formed Coalition to Stop the Spread held an online meeting Thursday during which they discussed the importance of encouraging people in the community to tell their friends, family members and co-workers to wear masks, stay 6 feet apart and continue washing their hands frequently in an effort to slow down the fast-moving spread of the coronavirus now invading smaller communities.

The panel members included:

Pat Tiberi, moderator and CEO of the Ohio Business Roundtable;

TJ Obrokta Jr., president and CEO of Encova Insurance and a member of the OBRT;

Chuck Sulerzyski, president and CEO of Peoples Bancorp;

Dr. Jignesh Modi, Genesis Health Infectious Diseases specialist;

Michael Linton, principle, Accurate Heating and Cooling in Chillicothe; and

Celina Fabrizio, vice presidents of National Media Relations, Paul Werth Associates.

The group stressed that coming together for the common cause means not only keeping each healthy, but also businesses and the economy.

Modi said he has worked as a doctor in Southeastern Ohio and West Virginia for 20 years. He noted that since the beginning of the pandemic there have been ups and downs in terms of COVID cases in the region. During the past two months, however, there has been a sharp increase. The number of people who have died in the United States alone is like five flu seasons combined, he said.

During a typical influenza season, between 25,000 and 75,000 people die in the United State.

The current pandemic is heading for 300,000 deaths in just nine months.

He believes early on there was a misconception that the virus only hurt the elderly. But a couple of his first COVID patients were just 50 years old.

Now hospitals across the country are becoming overwhelmed, running at 90 percent capacity, he said, noting that people need to step up and wear masks, and keep their distance even when around smaller groups of people they know.

“It’s a matter of personal responsibility,” Modi said. “We need to hunker down and make sacrifices during the next few months.”

Masks do work, he added, but only if people actually use them. Staying apart also is key. People’s social bubble should be kept very small, he noted.

Linton said his employees are required to mask up because they do their work in people’s homes. But they also know their livelihoods depend on it. If their co-workers become ill or have to be quarantined, that impacts the entire business. Their customers, he noted, have done a good job being safe as well.

Obrokta said about 90 percent of his employees are working from home. His company also has waived co-pays for its workers so they have easier access to health care during the pandemic. His company also waived rental fees for businesses renting space in his company’s headquarters in Columbus. And his firm donated $150,000 to food banks in Ohio and West Virginia.

“We thought it was very important to have the Stop the Spread initiative because we don’t like where the numbers are going. We, like I’m sure all of you, are now seeing more and more of our associates, their family members and our friends coming down with this virus, and we are very concerned with those trends. So we’re happy to lend a hand to this initiative and engage our associates as they go out in their communities and try to help stop the spread of this very vicious virus,” he said.

Obrokta said he asked his workers to take personal responsibility to stop the spread by encouraging them to be aware that larger family gatherings can spread the virus. Obrokta said he personally had to tell his mother that she could not visit for Thanksgiving dinner, and Christmas will likely be the same.

“It’s the kind of thing we have to do,” he said. “We have to keep our eye on the ball and make smart decisions.”

Obrotka said one of his employees, who he referred to as “Beth,” died because of COVID. She was a cancer survivor.

“Her body was not strong enough to beat cancer and COVID,” he said.

Sulerzyski said following the guidelines is important for everyone. He conceded that early on in the pandemic he did not believe mask wearing was necessary, but now he does.

“It’s critical for the economic health in our area,” he said.

Fabrizio noted that some people may be letting their guard down around extended family they do not live with.

“Maybe it’s their siblings who kind of peer pressure them and say, ‘Come on, I’m feeling good. Why don’t you come over?’ Or neighbors who want to have a card party. So it’s really those kinds of small settings that I think are helping spread this. And this is more of a personal responsibility message that needs to get out,” she said.

Modi said masks are not 100 percent effective, but they do work. They have been used in clinical settings for decades to prevent the spread of flu, tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases.