WLB announces changes due to Coronavirus

Good Morning, this is Steven Cioffi, Coordinator of Emergency Management for the Borough of West Long Branch.

In the past several weeks, we all have seen our lives change drastically. From our schools, places of worship & businesses, both big and small closing, and to the modifications & restrictions in purchasing our needed food items and then finally having to cope with the changes of our somewhat “routine lives”, this was a drastic change for all ages.

All of these changes due to a virus that health officials are still attempting to get a cure for & at the same time guide us in what we should & shouldn’t do. Thanks to Federal & State funding, we have increased our State and local testing centers which enable those “who fit the criteria” and “have symptoms” to have the tests completed. With that, these results are learned, new numbers are obtained & treatments are started.

Officials now say that in the next few weeks, that the completed test results will become more readily available each day and our total numbers within our State will be at its peak. However, these alarming numbers will give authorities the chance to see important statistics that they have not had, to assist them further in handling what now turned into a pandemic virus.

My request as your Emergency management coordinator is simple. It echoes our Federal, State and County official’s recommendations, and that is Social Distancing. I cannot express the importance of this to our residents. We as a community are able to fight this together but I am in need of your help to do this. Our Health care facilities are overwhelmed and all of our nurses, doctors and hospital staff are in overdrive. As our Governor has expressed several times, we need to lessen the curve and for us to be able to achieve that, “We need to stay at home!”

I wish we could turn this pandemic virus off like a light switch, but without everyone pitching in and doing their part, we will not be able to do so. Social Distancing is the key right now and if people continue with not changing, restrictions will have to be increased. Ok, there it is, it’s all up to all of you to do your part and make this happen.

We will get through this together as one community, stay safe, stay informed & Please Stay Home!

Thank you!

Steven Cioffi, West Long Branch Emergency Management