Mayor's Message - April 7, 2020
e-mail Mayor Runfeldt===============================================
Today’s update, as usual, brings a mix of good and bad news and some new things to let you know about. We had a very large spike in positive cases confirmed in Lincoln Park since the weekend. Our total for Lincoln Park now stands at 90 cumulative cases. The majority of the new cases come from the various nursing and long-term care facilities we have in town. This was to be expected. In fact, in the beginning of March, the Health Department and other Borough Officials held a meeting with many different governmental agencies, first responders and some of our larger local businesses of which the long-term care centers were included. Following the meeting, the Lincoln Park Care Center voluntarily took the step to limit public access to their facility well in advance of being ordered to do so by the state of New Jersey. Even with taking aggressive precautions, the LPCC experienced their first positive case on March 24th. Once again, this was expected. Due to the communal nature of these facilities it is also expected that there will be a spread of the disease despite having the best safeguards in place. I am sure that these increasing numbers may be concerning to you, but once again they have been expected and our health officials are in constant contact with these facilities. I also know that many Lincoln Park residents have family and loved ones who are being treated at or reside in these locations. I have asked the officials from the largest facility in town to comment on the efforts they are taking to combat the virus in their facility. The following is from the statement I received from the Lincoln Park Care Center which I will share with you:
...the key is for all citizens, and particularly those working in communal environments, to take as many precautions as possible. In a nursing home this translates to having proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which fortunately all employees have appropriate PPE. Likewise, the key is to treat the symptoms and the disease using the latest available information. Under the direction of our Medical Director, Dr Luhana, residents are receiving aggressive medical care which hopefully will positively impact prognosis. Our hearts go out to the families that have been affected and we deeply feel loss within our community. That said, we would be remiss if we did not thank those nurses, doctors, therapists, aids, housekeepers, dietary staff and maintenance teams that are working tirelessly to care for our elders. Their brave professionalism and dedication to the people in our care is a testament to the love and respect we all share for our residents
Rest assured that until we exit the other side of this COVID-19 pandemic, we will be here to care for and support our community.
These facilities are part of our Community and I ask that you keep their residents and staff in your thoughts as we move forward through this crisis.
I am very happy to be able to continue to report on the growing number of “RECOVERED” cases in town which now total nearly 50% of our cumulative resident cases. Sadly, I must also inform you of the additional deaths in our town which now total 6, most of whom have had multiple co-morbidity underlying health issues.
It is expected that we will continue to see increasing numbers of positive tests and confirmed cases as we move through the next few days or weeks. If everyone does their part in following the CDC, NJDOH and local health recommendations, we will help lessen the spread of the virus. Please continue to check the town’s website or any of the many links from the CDC or the New Jersey Department of Health to stay up to date on how you can do your part to end this crisis.
Thank you for your time, your effort and your support. Please stay safe and healthy every day!
Mayor David Runfeldt
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