An Open Letter to our friends and neighbors.
I am writing to you to discuss the ongoing response to the COVID-19/Coronavirus pandemic. We are a small community, but we are committed to utilizing our resources to combat this virus, and to keep each of you and all our residents as safe as possible.
What we know of this virus is very little, but what we do know is that we must do whatever we can to stop it’s spread. While the majority of persons infected will recover without incident, elderly and health compromised individuals are at significant risk for hospitalization and death from this virus.
The only way we can effectively manage the crisis is to follow the directives issued by our Governor, County Legislature and from my office. We will be following these directives to limit person to person contact, and thereby slow the infection rate within our community.
By the order issued by our Governor, there are to be no mass gatherings of more than 50 people. There are no exceptions to this rule. The guidance issued recommends that limit be reduced to 10 or less wherever possible. I cannot stress how important it is to follow this guidance. Many infected persons will have little or no symptoms while they are contagious. They will unknowingly spread the virus to those among us who lack the ability to fight it off.
To our neighbors and homeowners, I would strongly encourage you to be careful in your decision making as to where you decide to spend this time. If you own a home within our community, you are welcome to utilize your home. That is your right. While you are entitled to utilize your home here in the Catskills, we are under the same directives as downstate. We have the same shortages at our stores, and most importantly, we lack the healthcare infrastructure to handle the expected needs. There are greater and more advanced healthcare facilities downstate than we have here, and they are better equipped to deal with the onslaught of cases expected. However, should you decide to utilize your upstate home, we will do our best to keep you safe and ask that you join us in this effort and self-quarantine for 14 days after leaving downstate.
Together, we will manage this crisis, and when we emerge, we will do so a better community. I thank you for your cooperation and understanding. Stay safe.
Sincerely,
Lee McGunnigle – Mayor