Below is a message from Mayor Steve Fulop of Jersey City:

I wanted to provide a comprehensive weekend update around COVID-19 in Jersey City and what has happened in our city over the last week. As we continue to face this together, we are doing all that we can to ensure you have access to testing and clear information.

As of today, there are 222 confirmed cases in Jersey City. This does not come as a surprise and we expect this number to increase as we ramp up more testing for Jersey City residents. Our first day of testing was a success in Jersey City as we did 250 tests for just our residents. As we compare this to most county testing sites that do the same amount for a much larger geographic region, I do expect the number of positives to increase for Jersey City, but we should view that as a good thing because we will have more info to fight the virus in our city.

With regards to ventilators and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), we are working to secure additional ventilators and PPE’s for both Jersey City Medical Center and Christ Hospital. The City currently has 1,500 full PPE kits available and 1,200 in reserves. Our OEM has done a great job of planning and we are equipped with backups for our first responders.

This week, we also started understanding how COVID-19 will impact our municipal budget. I want to be very transparent with the public on the hardship we face which we estimate is approximately $70m this year. I also spoke briefly about the fact that all options are on the table and while layoffs are always a last resort for me, the municipal government is not immune. We will be careful here, but I am unwilling to just shift a larger tax burden or tax increase on already burdened residents.

Next week, our priority will be putting forward relief plans on the local level that complements the package from the federal program. We have already set up a team between the City Council and the Administration to work on this. We will also begin to organize some key volunteers for very specific objectives. For example, lawyers can volunteer pro bono and help small businesses apply for federal relief programs. Some other things to keep in mind:

• From home, you can support small businesses by ordering gift cards or by ordering food from your favorite local restaurants.
• We were one of the first to work with the local grocery stores to set aside special hours for elders and people compromised immune systems so that they can get the shopping they need with less risk.
• If you have not signed up for the Swift911 emergency alert system, please sign up now.
• For more information, please visit the Jersey City website set up to provide more information on COVID-19.

Updates/reminders from the City government:

• We announced our initiative to better support our homeless residents by expanding public shower services, providing more sanitary kits with meals and partnering with three hotels to provide shelter.
• Parking regulations are suspended until further notice. We have also opened up public school lots for public parking.
• If you think a store is price gouging, please report this at 201-547-4900/5477 or prosecutor@jcnj.org. We are working closely with Chief Prosecutor Jake Hudnut to stop this.
• We are one of the most diverse cities in the country and we want to remind residents that as we see xenophobic actions against Asian Americans in other communities – it has no place in Jersey City and we should always be vocal to push down on this as we are always a welcoming community.

As I have more data and information, I will continue to share it with you. Please continue to play your part in this battle and stay home.