COVID-19: Be Smart, Stay Healthy

We woke up this Monday morning to a very different world and what’s more concerning is what next Monday will bring and the Monday after that and so on.

The stark reality of what this coronavirus really means is starting to hit people although there are many who still believe it’s just a bad case of the flu and the precautions being taken are totally unnecessary.

With the exception of Lakewood all schools are closed in the shore area and it appears likely Governor Murphy will take that decision out of the districts hands when he orders a total statewide shutdown sometime today.

While most of our local schools have announced a closing of two weeks that is likely going to be extended at least through mid-April when scheduled spring breaks would have ended.  However even that may be optimistic as some political leaders, including New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio are fearful that public schools will not re-open at all during this school year.

In other words, see you in September.

While having children at home presents a real challenge for many parents it’s only the tip of the iceberg.  The impact on businesses is starting to be felt and likely will become drastic in the coming days.

New York is joining other cities in closing bars and restaurants with the exception of those that provide takeout or delivery service and don’t be surprised if that same happens here in New Jersey before too long.  On Sunday Governor Murphy hinted that more aggressive action is coming that will impact business with the goal to enhance efforts at social distancing which is the best way to slow down the spreading of COVID-19.

Of course if you’ve been in a supermarket over the last few days you can see that some are going from preparation to panic.  We can laugh all we want about toilet paper shortages but people are hoarding certain products and that is something that has to stop.  It does appear stores are now limiting what people can purchase which hopefully will help.

Initially many of us moaned over the impact the virus was having on sports.  It appears that might be nothing compared to what’s coming down in days and weeks ahead.  Let’s be smart and try to stay healthy.