May 15, 2020 MESSAGE FROM MAYOR & COUNCIL - CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)
5/15/2020 - May 15, 2020 MESSAGE FROM MAYOR & COUNCIL - CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)
Good afternoon, I am Mayor Paul Medany. Today is May 15th, 2020, we are back with information, statistics, and comments on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Deptford residents and the whole area have done their job as far as following the guidelines to slow the spread of the disease.
In Deptford we have 441 confirmed cases but 311 are from our long term care facilities. Gloucester County has 1,783 confirmed cases, New Jersey has 143,905 cases and sadly 10,138 residents have succumbed to complications from COVID-19 in New Jersey as of today.
Go to our website www.Deptford-nj.org for much more information and service requests for Deptford municipal services.
I want to comment on something that we all must understand. There are many diseases and viruses that appear over time and many simply do not disappear. Pandemics are not new a phenomenon.
Use your imagination when thinking of viruses.
Viruses are alive, they are living organisms. They need a place to live, they are like hitchhikers, they are like glue, and they spread by sticking to surfaces and looking for openings. They are like grease that you have to scrub off, if you imagine this it helps you.
Contagious diseases have been with us throughout human history and always will be. Some we have eliminated, some are still with us. Smallpox, The Plague, Malaria, Influenza, Tuberculosis, HIV, Cholera, Rabies, Ebola, Pneumonia, the list goes on and on.
Polio was eradicated through science and vaccinations. Smallpox vaccinations go back to colonial times, Thomas Jefferson himself was inoculated for Smallpox. As a matter of fact, General George Washington had his troops vaccinated against smallpox and basically saved the revolution and broke the law doing it. Yellow fever in the early 1900’s was a pandemic. HIV is still with us. Variations of the so called Common Flu will always be a threat and kills people every year.
The point is COVID-19 is not going to be eradicated any time soon, if at all. We must accept that it is here, it is a life or death threat for some, a very serious illness for many, and for most it causes minor symptoms, we are still trying to understand it. Just read about folks who have recovered and some of their stories.
First and most important, there is no vaccine for this COVID-19 and there will not be one for quite a long time.
So, what do we do? We follow science first of all. We protect ourselves and change habits ingrained in our culture. We stop shaking hands for however long it takes. We constantly wash our hands. We don’t cough or sneeze without covering up. We learn to clean and disinfect. We use hand sanitizers. We wear masks, we do all of these things right now.
We physical distance ourselves. In the martial arts there is a saying do not let someone in your space. That’s a self-defense technique that we teach, now it becomes a health technique, don’t let anyone in your space.
Finally, we admit to ourselves that the virus is among us and we have choices.
We weigh risks. We decide what is the cost to opening society and getting back to business? Our life normal has changed. We are going to live with a new normal and that part is fact.
People are going to sick from this and a multitude of other diseases and afflictions. Elected officials must make decisions based on science while taking in to consideration what citizens and residents want.
Here are other facts. The 69 page pandemic guideline was ignored. The pandemic preparedness office was abolished. The National Security Global Health unit was disbanded.
So, States and local municipalities are on our own, making plans, rethinking our budgets, keeping employees safe and serving our residents providing municipal services.
So, let’s get back to Deptford.
Buy and shop local to support local business, buy newspapers to get real and factual news, get outside and exercise, we say all of these things every video.
Our event schedule this summer is month by month until we see what happens.
We want to thank all of you for taking this seriously and following the procedures to keep you and others from getting sick.
This is the most challenging time in most of our lives. America’s history is full with heroic stories of men and women who fought and died to create and keep this greatest country in world history.
Tomorrow, Saturday, is Armed Forces Day. The purpose of Armed Forces Day is to honor the men and women who serve in each branch of the military, active duty. Throughout all of this, we have soldiers deployed overseas and serving here in our country. Maybe you can send a care package or letter to a soldier who is deployed.
Make sure to fly the flag to honor our country and the soldiers on active duty this day, tomorrow, Saturday. it is time the flag flies at full mast.
Stay safe, stay smart, stay positive, stay active, but stay apart, please, and we’ll see you soon.
Stay informed:
Visit the Center for Disease Control website at https://www.cdc.gov
Visit the State Department of Health website at https://www.nj.gov/health/
Contact the NJ Coronavirus Center hotline at 800-222-1222
Sincerely,
Mayor Paul Medany & Township Council