Westfield Mayor Says: 'This Is Not A Snow Day!' Amid Coronavirus

WESTFIELD, NJ — A day after the town of Westfield said it had gotten word of its first coronavirus case, Westfield Mayor Shelley Brindle urged residents to stay home, in a letter saying, "This is not a snow day!" She said further restrictions may be announced later on Sunday.

Late on Saturday, one North Jersey city, Hoboken, announced a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew on its residents.

Brindle said, "I hope this note finds you AT HOME...When this horrific pandemic passes, we may all know someone who didn’t survive it." She encouraged everyone to do their part to stay away from others.

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Westfield Health Officer Megan Avallone explained on Friday why the township was instituting social distancing measures, and answered residents' questions, such as whether it was ok for kids to have playdates. She serves as the health official for eight towns and is also the head of New Jersey's organization of the New Jersey Association of County and City Health Officials.

Brindle's Sunday morning letter said:

<blockquote>I hope this note finds you AT HOME. Unfortunately, I am hearing from countless residents who are concerned about the number of people who continue to congregate in groups, either in restaurants, bars, playgrounds, or in people’s homes, despite the repeated asks and warnings not to do so.

To reiterate, as a community, we have a responsibility and obligation to ensure we all self-isolate to ensure that we don’t inadvertently expose someone with a compromised immune system. You do not have to be experiencing symptoms to be contagious so everyone should act as if they are.

Self isolation will also help to ensure our front line healthcare professionals and hospitals are not overwhelmed with patients at once, which may limit available care to those who need it. The longer this virus takes to spread, the more people can be treated, and the less lethal it will be. When this horrific pandemic passes, we may all know someone who didn’t survive it.

You do not want to be the one who didn’t do their part. We will most likely be announcing further restrictions after this afternoon’s COVID-19 conference call with the county. I will provide a further update then.</blockquote>

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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