Office of the Mayor - COVID-19 Update No. 3

MARCH 16, 2020                 COVID-19 UPDATE NO. 3

All:

As you are probably aware, Red Bank has declared a State of Emergency and has, among other things, placed restrictions on businesses and social gatherings. Based upon all available information, this would seem to be the coming trend in New Jersey for its larger cities. As newly confirmed COVID-19 cases crop up, this will be a national trend as well (e.g., Las Vegas this morning).

The next 24 hours will be very telling. The Borough’s representatives have been in constant contact with municipal, county, state and federal authorities in an effort to ensure that Oceanport is adequately informed and educated as to how we can best protect our residents as this virus runs its course.  Our emergency service providers, both volunteer and paid, have been working non-stop to make sure that they are prepared for whatever comes our way.

To that end, the Borough of Oceanport will be holding an OEM meeting this afternoon and a conference call has been scheduled among all of the Mayors in the Two Rivers area so that we can better coordinate our efforts in furtherance of fighting the spread of this virus. My expectation is that there will be additional restrictions within the Borough of Oceanport and surrounding communities by the end of the day.

In the interim, the rules are pretty simple: stay in your house as much as possible, wash your hands and embrace "social distancing" until this virus runs its course. With current technology, it has never been easier to isolate ourselves while keeping in constant contact with others in Oceanport and around the world. This will be a temporary, albeit profound, inconvenience and imposition on all of us. Our lives are going to have to change for a little while. Oceanport has been through this type of thing before and we've come out the other side better than ever. The same thing will happen in this instance. I am certain that the Borough will be making significant pronouncements later today. Stay inside. Stay clean. Stay safe.

We will continue our regular, daily practice of communication and conference calls with all levels of government to ensure that the Borough of Oceanport receives and acts upon the best and most updated information about COVID-19 and the associated risk factors. Please keep yourself aware of the latest COVID-19 related developments by accessing the Borough website, OEM Facebook Page, the Board of Education’s website and both the CDC’s and the State Department of Health’s websites.  If you believe you are sick with the novel Coronavirus, please call the 24-hour hotline currently operated by the State of New Jersey at 1-800-222-1222.

Jay Coffey

Mayor of Oceanport