“There are no known cases of Coronavirus (or COVID-19) in the City of Trenton,” said Mayor Gusciora at a press conference yesterday in the City Council Chamber. “That said, in light of Governor Phil Murphy’s Declaration of a State of Emergency yesterday, it is important that the City be prepared to meet any health emergency contingencies that may arise.”
Outlining several steps that the City of Trenton is taking to deal with the emerging Coronavirus outbreak, Mayor Gusciora highlighted efforts since last month to prepare each department accordingly under the direction of the City’s Emergency Management Coordinator, Fire Director Derrick Sawyer.
“Each department is developing a continuity of operations plan, in the event of an outbreak, so that any non-essential functions at City Hall can be done remotely,” said Mayor Gusciora. “And in this instance, our office of IT is ensuring that laptops are keyed into our City’s main data base. This, so that key essential personnel can maintain contact with their employees.”
“City Hall is preparing to meet the public demands to deliver essential services for our citizens and specifically in the areas of public safety (police and fire), health and human services for seniors, public works (including garbage pick-up), water utility, inspections, court services, and other functions of government,” added Mayor Gusciora.
Mayor Gusciora also noted how teachers and administrators are developing advanced lesson plans in the event of school closures under the direction of Superintendent, Ron Lee. “Our schools are closing Thursday and Friday, both to develop plans and to ensure that our buildings are continuing sanitation measures,” added Mayor Gusciora.
With contingency plans being developed with Trenton Housing Authority, under Jelani Garrett’s direction, officials will work to contain any isolated instances of the virus to buildings and residents directly impacted.
“We are also, modeling a sick day bank that employees can tap into in the event that they become sick or symptomatic of the virus,” commented Mayor Gusciora. “If there is a positive test results for the virus, employees who take leave will not be penalized.”
“As long as the virus continues to spread to this area, we will continue to offer public assistance and keep the public health and well-being of our citizens a priority,” said Mayor Gusiora. “Those concerned that they could be infected should be calling the NJ Department of Health at 1-800-222-1222. We are developing plans for how to handle those who need to stay home. We will to the best of our ability maintain providing essential services to our high-risk population. We are all Trentonians. We will work together to tackle this. We will be gathering information from our area stakeholders, Trenton Public Schools, and the County and State governments constantly, and we will be providing updates.”
