Parsippany Mayor Michael Soriano: “We Have To Meet This Moment”

“We are all suffering from pandemic fatigue. COVID has altered the way we live for the better part
of a year. It has strained every part of our economy, from the personal to global levels. We can’t
do the things we want to do, see the people we want to see, or go about our daily lives without
taking precautions.

Every one of us is tired. It’s tempting, even liberating, to give up on the advice of health
experts. It could be as simple as attending one indoor gathering, the leading cause of new
outbreaks in New Jersey, or as bold as going on with daily life as if the pandemic doesn’t exist. I
don’t think there’s a person alive who doesn’t understand the desire to return to normal.

But the truth is that normal activities can put you and others at risk. COVID-19 not only carries
the risk of death, but a lifetime of severe complications. It is not the flu. Despite dominating
our lives for seven months, it is a virus we know very little about other than its inherent
dangers. We don’t know how it could impact you one, two, or five years after recovery. And those
risks must give us all pause. We need to beat COVID-19, not ignore it.

We have to meet this moment. And we have to meet it as a community. Not just as a township, not
just as a county, not just as a state. We are dealing with a pathogen that does not recognize
borders, intentions, or time. If it can spread, it will spread.

The sacrifices made by all of us in 2020 can be snuffed out in just a few weeks. Think of the
sacrifices made this year by healthcare workers. First responders. Essential employees. Small
business owners. Parents. Your friends and neighbors. You and your family. The thousands of
families who have lost a loved one. We all have the power to ensure that those sacrifices were not
made in vain. But that power is collective; it requires all of us.

And I know we can do it, because we’ve done it before. Our Parsippany community, our New Jersey
community, and our American community have it in us to beat this virus.”

– Michael A. Soriano, Mayor of Parsippany-Troy Hills