By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Sea Isle City Mayor Leonard Desiderio urged residents and visitors not to panic Monday as he announced a series of new closings and restrictions designed to help protect the public from the coronavirus outbreak.
“The most important thing is we’re not going to panic. We’re going to do this orderly,” Desiderio told residents and business owners during two back-to-back community meetings to update the public on the latest coronavirus measures.
No more than 50 people were allowed inside the Council Chambers at City Hall for the meetings, complying with recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and orders from Gov. Phil Murphy not to exceed that crowd size at public gatherings.
After the first meeting, City Clerk Shannon Romano sprayed the wooden bench-style seats inside the Council Chambers with disinfectant as a precaution.
Desiderio explained that Sea Isle with be joining with other New Jersey municipalities in following a series of “social distancing” precautions outlined by the CDC, the governor and the Cape May County Health Department to try to minimize the spread of the coronavirus.
“First and foremost, I remind everyone not to panic and to follow all CDC, state and county recommendations to protect themselves and their families, including practicing social distancing, washing hands regularly and avoiding crowds,” he said in a statement. “We are looking out for everyone’s welfare – and I strongly recommend that all residents and visitors take the current situation seriously.”
In remarks at the community meetings, Desiderio said it is unclear how long the closings and crowd restrictions will remain in effect. In the meantime, he urged Sea Isle residents to stay at home, if possible, to “hunker down for a while.”
“It could be two weeks, it could be longer, according to the governor,” he said.
The audience of local residents and business owners listens to the mayor's presentation during the first of two community meetings.
Desiderio assured the public that Sea Isle’s employees will be reporting to work as usual, including police officers and emergency medical responders.
However, he urged residents not to come to City Hall unless the reason for their visit is important. Visitors will be asked to stay in the City Hall lobby on the first floor. A police dispatcher will call a city employee to come to the lobby to meet with visitors.
In addition, if members of the public have any business with a city employee, they are urged to phone the office ahead of time for instructions.
“We’re all working together on this and moving forward,” Desiderio said of the precautions.
In an interview, Desiderio said it is premature to begin thinking about any possible impacts that the coronavirus crisis may have on Sea Isle’s summer tourism season.
“It’s way too early, because right now the entire country is in the same predicament,” he said.
At the same time, the mayor expressed confidence that tourists will return to Sea Isle in big numbers this summer for the vacation season.
“It’s not like Sea Isle got hit by a big storm and was wiped out,” he said. “I think people will look to go to their favorite place on earth.”
City Clerk Shannon Romano sprays the seats inside the Council Chambers with a disinfectant as a precaution.
So far, no cases of coronavirus have been reported in Cape May County. As of Monday night, 178 cases had been reported elsewhere in New Jersey.
Desiderio said Sea Isle had its second-busiest weekend of the winter this past Saturday and Sunday, which he attributed to out-of-towners wanting to escape the coronavirus outbreak elsewhere by taking trips to the shore.
He noted that local real estate offices may remain open as usual to handle any rush of visitors looking for rental properties or second homes.
Carol Hopely Russo, who heads the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach Realtors office in Sea Isle, said people are coming down to the shore to “get away” from the coronavirus scare.
BHHS sales agents at the Sea Isle office will be working remotely as part of a companywide directive for employees, but Hopely Russo said they will still be able to conduct business with clients without interruptions.
“Business is still happening, and still as usual,” she said in an interview Monday.
Visitors to City Hall will be asked to stay in the lobby on the first floor while Sea Isle employees come to see them about city business.
Effective immediately, Sea Isle is closing the following buildings and facilities to the public until further notice:
- The Welcome Center
- The Community Lodge at 300 JFK Boulevard and the Recreation Center at 4501 Park Road
- All Public Works buildings
- The trash and recycling center
- All public bathrooms
Also:
- Sea Isle’s free rabies clinic for cats and dogs on March 21 is canceled.
- The Easter program and egg hunt on April 1 are canceled.
- The start date for the sale of municipal parking permits is changed from April 1 to May 1.
- All civic meetings and recreation programs that normally take place at city facilities are postponed until further notice (with the exception of City Council meetings, which will follow their regular schedule).
- All municipal bills, fees and fines are still in effect. The public is encouraged to pay bills online or by mail whenever possible.
- All Cape May County library branches (including the Sea Isle branch) will be closed from March 17 through at least March 31.
Additional announcements related to the coronavirus threat will be posted on the homepage of Sea Isle City’s municipal website at
www.seaislecitynj.us.
Among the series of statewide coronavirus restrictions announced Monday by the governor that will affect Sea Isle’s businesses, all restaurants and bars will be limited to takeout and delivery services during daytime hours for the foreseeable future.
The governor is also banning all public gatherings in New Jersey of 50 people or more.
However, grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations and other businesses that are considered essential will remain open as normal.
