CLOSING TRENTON
City officials make the call to cancel schools and non-essential city services for at least two weeks
TRENTON » The global coronavirus threat is suddenly hitting close to home.
Mayor Reed Gusciora’s office declared a state of emergency Saturday, delivering a comprehensive edict that will close Trenton Public Schools and restrict the wheels of local government to just essential personnel in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Effective Saturday through March 27, the senior centers, recreational facilities and capital city educational buildings are hereby closed, but meals will still be distributed for students and elders.
“We expect to get hit hard as more and more people are tested and as the virus spreads in this area,” Gusciora said Saturday evening in an interview with The Trentonian.
The sudden closure of key facilities creates a logistical problem for the city, one that requires a public-private partnership to ensure that no senior or schoolchild is left behind in the area of food service.
The pastoral leaders of Galilee Baptist Church and Friendship Baptist Church have agreed to help in the cause, Gusciora said, adding, “We are looking for volunteers who are willing to deliver meals to take care of the most vulnerable citizens.”
“A State of Emergency in the City of Trenton has been deemed necessary to ensure the continued provision of essential services to our residents during this ongoing and developing health emergency,” Gusciora says in the emergency declaration. “We regret having to close or limit services normally provided to school children, parents, seniors, disabled persons and those who rely on City resources. Our Emergency Management team will continue to monitor the public health emergency closely and is prepared respond to any contingencies that arise.”
Gusciora said his executive decision is “consistent” with the states of emergency declared by President Donald Trump, Gov. Phil Murphy and Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes to protect public health from the growing COVID-19 outbreak.
The mayor is urging all city businesses to help limit the spread of coronavirus by stepping up cleaning and sanitizing procedures and adhering to recommendations for social distancing and limiting person-to-person contact.
Churches, mosques, synagogues and other places of worship are strongly advised to limit group interactions and provide for social distancing, according to Trenton’s emergency declaration. It is further advised that “social organizations, clubs and nonprofit entities limit person to person contact and provide for social distancing.”
Until further notice, Trenton City Hall will be restricted to essential personnel as determined by the respective municipal department heads. All public safety operations will continue, but residents will have limited access to police and firefighter headquarters.
The city’s judicial branch is also affected by the state of emergency, for Trenton Municipal Court will remain closed beginning Monday through March 27.
New Jersey as of Saturday afternoon had 69 presumptively positive cases of COVID-19, including a 49-year-old woman who works at Princeton University and a 62-year-old doctor who works at the Mercer Bucks Cardiology office in Robbinsville.
Coronavirus or COVID-19 is a respiratory disease that has sickened more than 140,000 people globally and killed approximately 5,400 victims to date, according to the World Health Organization’s situation report dated Saturday.
For most people, the virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with preexisting health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
The vast majority of people recover from COVID-19. According to the WHO, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.
Basic protective measures against COVID-19 include regular handwashing with soap and water and social distancing to avoid being in close proximity to a person who is coughing or sneezing.
Most of the school districts across New Jersey have shuttered their academic facilities and are embracing remote education in an effort to contain spread of coronavirus.
Gov. Murphy on Friday said it was a “when and not an if” that all 650 school districts across New Jersey will close because of the pandemic.
In a stroke of foresight, teachers in Trenton Public Schools have developed assignments that students have two options to access and complete during the state of emergency: Students without internet access or an internet-enabled device will receive printed packets, and students who have internet access and a device may access the assignments through Google Classroom and Clever.
With Trenton operating in a state of emergency, the Gusciora administration will provide regular and daily updates on the city’s website and Facebook page.