Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Americans have focused on how the U.S. government is responding to the crisis. Journalists and policy analysts have been busy commending, or criticizing, the reaction of President Trump and governors to the crisis.

There is no denying that how our leaders respond to the pandemic will have a major impact on the pandemic’s outcome. If history serves as a guide, public sector response, at least in the U.S., was seldom adequate in tackling a health or economic crisis. While we may tend to think we should rely on government when life is uncertain, it is a bad idea to overlook the role that the private and non-profit sectors can play in fighting the pandemic.

Over the past few weeks, corporations around the world have joined the battle against the coronavirus at an astounding speed. Companies like LVMH, Ford, and General Motors have retooled their production lines to produce hand sanitizers and ventilators. Even Uber and Airbnb are offering free food delivery and housing for affected populations.

These remarkable responses from the private sector on a global scale serve as a model for a state like Maryland. Under Armour, the Baltimore-based footwear and apparel company, is also planning to manufacture and distribute more than 500,000 fabric masks and provide equipment to local health institutions. Even a small local Maryland company called Hatch Exhibits, a manufacturer of custom booths for showcasing products, has pivoted operations to produce medical gear including ventilators, sanitary gowns, and face masks.

These gestures, whether small or large, highlight the important and capable role the private sector can play in protecting the public. As Dr. Mohan Suntha, president and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical system noted, “Under Armour is yet again demonstrating its firm commitment to Maryland’s communities while helping to save lives.” Therefore, any corporations with the capability to offer even the smallest level of support should not hesitate to step up and assist local and national efforts in fighting the pandemic.

The non-profit philanthropic sector can also play an important role in addressing the harmful effects of the crisis. Unfortunately, charitable organizations have been negatively affected by the pandemic at a time when the demand for their services is skyrocketing. Cautious philanthropists have curtailed their donations. Despite this, major charitable foundations in the U.S., such as the the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, recently pledged millions to help speed up the development of treatments for Covid-19.

In Maryland’s case, the state should be encouraging philanthropic response to the crisis. After all, Maryland has the third-highest number of millionaires in the country, and has eight billionaires on the Forbes 2019 list. Even though these wealthy individuals may have seen a hit to their income due to the stock market crash, now would be the worst time to pull back on charitable giving.

Local churches and other religious charities should also step up, even if their endowments have been affected negatively by the crisis. Instead of focusing on financial support, they can provide physical and emotional support, for instance, by running errands for senior citizens and other neighbors who are vulnerable to the virus. Since the crisis began, D.C.- and Maryland-based Catholic Charities have seen up to 80 percent spike in people requesting for help.

All in all, the private and non-profit sectors have just as significant and capable of a role to play in fighting the coronavirus crisis as the public sector does, in Maryland and across the world. As local governments are facing a severe downturn and declining tax revenue, public-sector response is insufficient to tackle the crisis at the speed required to prevent the disease from taking more lives. Therefore, it is neither morally right nor socially pragmatic to depend on the public sector to tackle the crisis alone.