An unexpected victim of the virus may be the efficacy of using behavioral science to affect big changes. While Hubei province went into full lockdown, the UK and US governments sought to curb social contact by applying nudge theory - measures that steer people’s behaviors without limiting their choices - with arguably minimal success. However, since the formal lockdown in the UK has begun, behavioral science has proven to be valuable once again. A recent paper on behavioral insights to help fight COVID-19 stated that “If governments want to keep their citizens home, they’ll need to rely on traditional economic solutions — fines and penalties for adverse behaviors — to accomplish it. But if they want insights on how to best get the public to buy in, well, behavioral science has a lot to say about that.” So how do you get the public to buy in? The paper made the case that you need to base communications in empathy (in this case, for health workers and at-risk individuals) and by promoting actions you can take independently (stay at home).