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Passaic Mayor Hector C. Lora said the city senior center and the Boys and Girls Club are closed and all Health Department programs and events cancelled.
Passaic joined a growing list of municipalities, including Teaneck, Leonia and Hoboken, that went on virtual lockdown Sunday in response to the increase threat of COVID-19 exposure.
Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco warned that all of Bergen could follow suit SEE: Teaneck Goes On Virtual Coronavirus Lockdown, All Of Bergen Could Soon Be Next
Passaic Municipal Court is closed at least through March 27, and the public libraries have suspended all programs and events until further notice – although both the Forstmann Main Library and Reid Memorial Branch Library will remain open under regular schedules.
Health officials are also asking city religious leaders to “suspend all events and activities and plan ways to limit close contact” with people via phone calls, texts or online chats, the mayor said.
They’re also asking all private schools and day care centers to follow the Board of Education’s lead and shut down for the next two weeks, he said.
The city wasn’t planning on closing the parks just yet, but he asked that residents “curtail the number of close contact group activities in the parks and fields,” Lora said.
Restaurants, bars, barbershops, beauty salons and other businesses with foot traffic remained open, the mayor said.
At the same time, Lora urged all community agencies and business owners to let those employees who can work from home do so, including “older adults and persons of any age with underlying health conditions,” he said.
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