Not Every Bunny's On Board With Cranford Event Amid Coronavirus

CRANFORD, NJ — The Cranford Chamber of Commerce will continue a plan for the Easter bunny to ride through the streets on Saturday morning. While some residents find the idea a breath of fresh air, other believe officials are laying an egg.

"April 11 at 10 a.m., the Easter Bunny will begin his journey through Cranford," says a Facebook post by the Chamber of Commerce. "No matter what your age, we encourage you to come outside and wave to the bunny as he passes by. (He's still in the process of mapping out his route so stay tuned for more information)."

"This is absolutely reckless during a pandemic," said a Cranford parent on Thursday who wanted to remain anonymous. "You can't be sure that every single family in a town of 24,000 people will stay in their homes when you send an exciting diversion down the street. Not sure what the town is thinking."

[UPDATE: Mayor Patrick Giblin had a message on Friday about social distancing during the event.]

Various officials statewide have encouraged individuals to stay inside, and if they must go outside, to maintain social distancing from others outside their family.

On the post about Saturday's event, most commenters were positive. "How awesome is Cranford?!?!?!," wrote one woman.

Others left suggestions for which street the bunny should glide down.

But another person said, "No, thanks stay inside."

The parent said there had been several heated debates on community Facebook groups about the issue.

Similar events in other towns have also drawn mixed feelings. Last week, one of Westfield's elementary schools ran a car parade of teachers, encouraging families to wave from porches.

But the next day, Mayor Shelley Brindle wrote, "I received several comments from residents who were concerned about the lack of social distance compliance, in spite of best efforts by most families to maintain appropriate distancing. While I can appreciate the good intentions of the organizers to bring a smile to the faces of these now remote students, I certainly would have discouraged the parade if asked, so as not to encourage families to congregate along the route."

Saturday's event will be sponsored by the Cranford Area Chamber of Commerce, Cranford Community Connection, and CWM Tribe. With assistance from Cranford Police Department and Cranford Fire Department.

Town and Chamber officials were asked for a comment Thursday morning. This story will be updated if comments are provided.

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Cranford officials reported on Thursday afternoon that so far, 182 residents had tested positive for the virus and one had passed away.

The state of New Jersey had a total of 1,700 deaths due to coronavirus as of Thursday morning, 198 of them since the day before. Gov. Phil Murphy held another press conference that morning to address the crisis. Read more here.

As of Tuesday evening, more than 88,000 people had died from the virus worldwide, 14,695 of those in the U.S.

Here are additional statewide coronavirus resources:

• NJ COVID-19 Information Hub: https://covid19.nj.gov/
• General COVID-19 questions: 2-1-1
• NJ COVID-19 hotline: (800) 222-1222

Experts say that the novel coronavirus, because it's new, is more lethal and much 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 first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

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