The City of San Francisco on Thursday launched a new text alert system specifically for updates on the spread of covid-19, now that SF has claimed its first two confirmed cases.

It's unclear what these alerts — powered by Nixle — will look like, but anything can happen at this point, and if you want to stay the most informed about the local situation you just have to text COVID19SF to the shortcode 888-777. It sends you a message back saying "You have registered for updates regarding COVID-19 from the City and County of San Francisco."

"Our new COVID19SF text alert system will allow us to broadly and instantly disseminate critical updates to the public,” said Mary Ellen Carroll, the director of the city's Department of Emergency Management, in a statement. "At the heart of being prepared for any emergency is doing what we can beforehand to be ready, and to access information about what to do during the emergency."

As KPIX reports, the city's Department of Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax, also issued a statement saying, "The city has been preparing for COVID-19 for many weeks and it is vital our San Francisco communities prepare, too. That means doing all we can to stay healthy by washing hands and staying home if sick, and also being prepared and informed. The new text message alert system – COVID19SF – will provide specific directions and notifications to keep everyone safe."

Okay, everyone! Are you hunkered down yet? Working from home?

The next month is not going to be fun.