Patrick Brennan is a self-described extrovert. A communications associate who lives in Adams Morgan, Brennan says he’s typically out of the house two to three nights a week for book clubs—his favorite social setting in D.C.—and regular happy hours with close friends. But as coronavirus sweeps D.C., it’s become increasingly difficult for people to interact face-to-face, forcing people like Brennan to get creative.

“None of us live together, so when we’re in this social distancing phase, we have to appropriately respect those guidelines,” Brennan says. “But we don’t want to miss out on good gossiping and the sharing of stories, and hearing about each other’s weeks.”

One friend in Brennan’s group hatched the plan: Take the happy hours online. Conveniently, each friend had a bottle of wine on hand, and the group decided on Google Hangouts because they found it user friendly.

Another friend had just bought a new outfit that she showed off on their group video chat—“giving us a little bit of a modeling walk”—while Brennan and crew cheered her on, he says. He’s since suggested the same virtual meeting idea to his monthly book club. So far, everyone’s on board.

“It’s kind of a modern solution for a very unfortunate modern problem,” Brennan says. “Nothing really beats actually being with your friends and family, but this came pretty close.”

[Read the latest updates about coronavirus in our region here]

Across the D.C. area, people are finding all kinds of ways of making social distancing less of a bore. Take Zainab Javed, for example. The 27-year-old creative director, who lives in Northern Virginia, is used to organizing social outings. As a former digital director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, she’s well-known in the Philly and D.C. sports worlds as the founder of the Mike Scott Hive, a group that tailgates on behalf of the Philadelphia 76ers forward. She helps organize the District’s Sixers fan club.

Javed says this past week, she’s organized two Cards Against Humanity and Skype nights where a group of fellow Sixers fans hopped onto an online version of the game.

“It’s been an absolute blast. We started at 10 p.m. last night with a group of six or seven people. I was nervous that others wouldn’t like it, but everyone just kept saying ‘one more round.’ Five rounds later, we ended the game around 2 a.m.”

Plus, Javed says, she was made for this moment: “As someone whose only friends in middle and high school were from online roleplaying boards, social distancing is my time to thrive.”

And she’s not the only one thriving online, or at least trying to. Jeff Landale, of Mount Pleasant, has organized what he calls “videoconference lunch breaks” for friends working from home in his neighborhood.

“I have a good friend living in China who has been on lockdown with her family for the past few months (along with the rest of the city), so I had a sense before this hit the U.S. that ensuring people did not feel isolated would be important,” Landale says. “About a week ago, I started messaging friends on Signal to set up a group chat for everyone within walking distance so that if anyone got sick, needed supplies, wanted to talk, or had ideas on how to social-distance socialize, everyone else could know and help out.”

They group is doing its first lunch break check in on Friday using Jitsi, a browser-based conferencing service.

“I’ve been staying home for a week, and having something social with friends to look forward to has already made me feel better,” he says.

Ksenia Coulter of Brookland found similar solace in virtually connecting with friends for a Women’s History Month book club. The group includes three people from D.C., one from Wheaton, and former D.C. residents from Minnesota and Denver.

“We read poems by Dorothy Parker and Elizabeth Bishop. My friend read a lovecraftian-style horror story written by Amelia Gorman, Bring the Moon to Me,” Coulter says. “It’s been good to analyze something that’s not the latest COVID news.”

Washingtonians had even more suggestions: Try Netflix Party, an extension that allows multiple people to steam shows and movies together. Into E-sports? Local Overwatch team, the Washington Justice, has been hosting regular Q&As and training sessions with fans on its Discord channel and on videogame streaming site Twitch. You can set up remote work meetings and lunches on apps like Cafecito.

[For more ideas on staying entertained at home, check out these free ways to stream movies, exercise, listen to audiobooks, and more.]

Or, perhaps, you just want to join other D.C.-area residents and step outside your home and let out a primal scream.

“Text your friends, see when they’re free, start chatting,” Javed says. “You can stream an old basketball game with a chat function open, play iMessage games, and even host a book club. You just have to be a little creative. We’re gonna be here for a while.”

Javed saves the most important advice for last, however: “Just don’t get together and create a podcast. The world’s had enough of those.”