We, like many communities, have seen an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. The Montclair Department of Health is reporting that we currently have 50 cases, with 10 people who did not survive the illness. All of those who did not survive had underlying health conditions. To the families of those who have lost their lives, we offer our deepest sympathies.
While difficult, we must continue to abide by physical distancing and hand-washing recommendations. Our collective actions as a community can help save lives. That means for those who can:
- Staying at home.
- Maintaining at least a 6 ft distance from others if you need to run out for essential errands, such as shopping for groceries or picking up items at the pharmacy.
- Washing hands frequently for at least 20 seconds.
We are going to continue to monitor the situation and do everything we can to limit the spread of the virus.
While our focus now is protecting public health, we are also looking ahead to recovery. That’s why I’m proposing that we create a Coronavirus Recovery Task Force. The Task Force will be composed of residents, experts, members of our business community, and non-profit organizations. Its job will be to help Montclair’s residents, businesses and community institutions come out of this challenging time even stronger than before. The task force will:
- Work with the Montclair BID, landowners, and business owners to find creative ways to keep businesses thriving in all areas of town.
- Work to provide mental health resources for our residents.
- Find ways to strengthen our non-profits that are doing invaluable work to help our community.
- Provide a centralized resource center that will pull together information from government at the local, state and federal levels on available programs.
This is just a start. We’re going to keep working around the clock to confront this challenge and protect the Montclair ideal.