Cranford To Close Businesses To Foot Traffic Amid Coronavirus

CRANFORD, NJ -- As other communities have done this week, the town of Cranford has closed non-essential businesses in town as of 5 p.m. Monday, with some exceptions like banks and pharmacies. In a letter, Mayor Patrick Giblin also encouraged residents to support businesses by buying gift certificates or ordering delivery.

Businesses like gyms, salons, and spas are closed, an effort to emphasize social distancing to slow the spread of coronavirus, so hospitals aren't overwhelmed. Giblin also suggested (but didn't order) that doctors limit patient visits to emergencies.

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Other cities with popular downtowns took similar measures over the weekend, including Westfield, which closed downtown shops to foot traffic starting Tuesday, and Hoboken.

Giblin's letter follows:

<blockquote>As of March 15th, New Jersey has announced 100 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and, so far, 2 deaths. With confirmed cases in Garwood, Westfield, Berkeley Heights, and Linden, it is only a matter of time before Cranford’s first confirmed case.

This is an unprecedented situation that has already disrupted daily life. After much discussion the Township Committee, with the Downtown Management Corporation (DMC), is taking major proactive steps to protect the health of the general public, business owners, their employees, and patrons. It is our collective responsibility to take action to reduce the transmission of coronavirus in Cranford. Effective Monday, March 16 at 5:00 pm, all non-essential businesses in Cranford Township must eliminate public access in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 within our community.

Within the Township of Cranford, this applies to retail businesses, restaurants, bars, personal services businesses (salons, barbers, nail salons, etc.), gyms, spas, and cafes. These steps are being taken to protect both our residents as well as employees of our local businesses. We are urging both businesses and residents to comply with these restrictions for the benefit of our community. These restrictions will remain in place for at least two weeks.

During that time, we will continue monitoring this rapidly evolving situation closely and keep business owners and the public apprised of changes. Further restrictions may very well be required going forward.

Businesses of all types are permitted to provide curbside pickup. The DMC will work closely with business owners to promote those services, as well as online initiatives that support the business community.

Exceptions to these restrictions are pharmacies, health care providers, grocery/food stores, banks and professional offices; these businesses will remain open.

Health care providers (doctors, dentists, and counseling services) are, however, urged to limit patients to emergency services.

In the meantime, we strongly encourage our residents to continue supporting local businesses by ordering food for curbside pickup or delivery, visiting business websites for online purchasing and buying gift certificates for future use. We all recognize this is difficult for our businesses, but these actions are meant to protect owners as well as the public. We remain committed to supporting our business community now and long after this emergency is resolved.

It is important to keep up to date with accurate information available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Website at www.cdc.gov Here are some every day preventative measures you can follow (as instructed by the CDC):

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe. (doorknobs, light switches, keyboards, telephones, copy machines)</blockquote>

Cranford's schools are also closed at least through March 27.

Other towns have given advice to increase social distancing. Over the weekend, Summit Mayor Nora Radest said, in a video, "Do not schedule playdates, parties, sleepovers, or visits with other families. This sounds extreme because it is. We are trying to create distance between family units and between individuals across those family units. Even if you have only one friend to have over, you are creating new links and possibilities for the type of transmission that all of our school, work, and public event closures are trying to prevent."

Experts say that the novel coronavirus, because it's new, is more lethal and harder to treat than the flu.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

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