The COVID-19 pandemic presents a major challenge to societies all over the globe. To curb the spread of the disease, two measures implemented in many countries are minimizing close contact between people (“physical distancing”) and wearing face masks. In the present research, we tested the idea that physical distancing and wearing face masks can be the result of a prosocial emotional process—empathy for those most vulnerable to the virus. In four preregistered studies (N = 3,718‬, Western population), we show that (i) empathy indeed relates to the motivation to adhere to physical distancing and to wearing face masks, and (ii) inducing empathy for those most vulnerable to the virus promotes the motivation to adhere to these measures (whereas merely providing information about the importance of the measures does not). In sum, the present research provides a better understanding of the promoting factors underlying the willingness to follow two important measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.