Mayor's Message - April 20, 2020
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It has been one month with most of us being indoors due to COVID-19. I continue to be impressed by how well our community has responded to this horrible crisis and the efforts we have all made to keep healthy and safe.
In speaking with the Governor’s office yesterday, I was informed that as of today, the Governor will be including individual statistics from nursing and long-term facilities throughout the state. This is something that I have pressed for as I feel this information provides a more accurate picture of the spread of the disease through our community. This disease has particularly troubled the elderly population and those in close contact with others. A setting such as a long-term care or nursing facility often brings these two conditions together and magnifies them.
As of this morning, we now have 206 positive cases of coronavirus in Lincoln Park. 96 of the cases are from the various nursing and long-term facilities located in town. As you can see, nearly half of all cases in Lincoln Park come from this type of location. These facilities, their staff and their residents are a large and welcome part of our community and they deserve our support and prayers now as much as ever. Our health officials have been in daily contact with these facilities and have made inspections to ensure they are meeting best practice standards during these stressful times. With horrible stories being published about other nursing homes and long care centers around the state, I have been told that we do not have any of those problems. The CDC continues to recommend that these facilities operate under the premise that will they have 100% exposure to the virus. As of now, the infection rate is much lower which shows that these facilities are doing their part to protect their staff and residents.
We do expect there may be slight differences between the numbers the governor will state and the numbers we have. Know that the information we provide is based on the best data available to us and is consistent with the practices and procedures used throughout the state and Morris County.
Although these numbers are not easy to look at, there is some encouraging news. We now have 103 “RECOVERED” cases in town. Of these recovered cases, 73 are from the general population and 30 are from the nursing facilities. That means that roughly 70% of the 1% of our residents that have tested positive have already recovered from the disease!
As we enter the second month of isolation restrictions to our lives, please continue to practice the social distancing and hygiene recommendations that have been in place. The more observant we can be now the sooner it will help us get back to normal quickly and safely!
Mayor David Runfeldt
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