Officials react to 1st virus case

The deadly disease that’s sweeping the globe and causing closures, cancellations and casualties worldwide has reached Lansdale Borough.

On Wednesday, Montgomery County officials announced the first positive case of COVID-19 in Lansdale, and town officials were quick to react.

“We must remain vigilant and dedicated to following the CDC guidelines now more than ever,” said borough Mayor Garry Herbert in a prepared statement released to the press.

“For weeks COVID-19 has surrounded the Borough and we have been preparing for the inevitable future that a case would breach the Borough boundaries,” he wrote.

The borough echoed details announced by Montgomery County officials in their public briefing earlier that day: that the patient is a 29-year-old male, with no information made public about his quarantine status or hospitalization.

Since the coronavirus reached Pennsylvania earlier this month, Lansdale’s officials have closed borough hall and the Lansdale

Public Library, postponed or cancelled public meetings and events including the town’s annual Easter Egg hunt, developed an online map of essential businesses that remain open. Also, police have begun using social distancing techniques, officials signed a formal disaster declaration, and announced a suspension of certain electric fees during the crisis, while posting frequent updates on borough social media channels.

“I ask all residents to continue to take this event seriously and socially distance themselves from friends, family and neighbors in order to control the spread of the virus,” Herbert wrote.

Borough officials continue to monitor county, state and national developments, according to the statement released late Wednesday, and vow to keep residents safe and evaluate all options during the pandemic.

“We will see this challenge out. And we will do so by continuing to be a community that protects each other by slowing the spread and flattening the curve,” Herbert wrote.

For more information visit www.Lansdale.org, search for “LansdalePA” on Facebook or follow @LansdalePA on Twitter.