From the Mayor, Dec. 7, 2020
Hearty Congratulations to all of our three communities of the village, AU, and ASC! Yes we had cases of COVID-19 in the valley. But, NO the cases did not spread, leading us to become a pool of infection. With the high population density this fall—about 6,000/square mile in our valley, we have emerged safe and healthy! The success of our containing COVID is largely due to the careful planning, flexibility when needed, good communication, transparency, and the testing that was carried out on both campuses. We owe both colleges our gratitude and our applause for keeping any of the cases on either campus, contained. This was accomplished with quick isolation of any detected positive cases and quick quarantine of those who had been exposed. In addition, both campuses had planned well for many different scenarios. Humanity and preserving privacy and dignity were the road maps for handling every situation.
With the students mostly departed, we must still keep up our guard. Please be very mindful to preserve your own health through this crisis. It might also be helpful to tune in the renewed gubernatorial remarks on COVID-19 from Andrew Cuomo. Those will be live on WSKG at a little before 12:00 Noon three times a week.
And, sadly, we must stay put for the holidays. On our Christmas Day we will have a “zoom” dinner with our children and their friends. Zoom dinners are really GREAT: You get all of the social contact possible in these times, but cook and clean up for only one or two. . . . . I’ve always enjoyed Thanksgiving—this year I had a zoom with 14 people and fully enjoyed it without the exhaustion of preparing for all. And, of course, I really do look forward to release from this virus to return to our all-important connections with friends and loved ones.
It makes me think, though—I hope as a society that we find the strength to do everything we can to prevent the spread of the disease. In doing so, let us be grateful for the ways that we can be connected and for the information of practices that will keep us all safe. Today is the anniversary of “the day that will live in infamy.” The attacks on Pearl Harbor, HI signaled the entrance of the U.S. into World War II. Think how terrifying and oppressive those time were for millions world wide. Frankly, it seems a small sacrifice and a medium sized inconvenience to stay home, mask when in public, keep social distance, hand wash, and avoid crowds in comparison to what WWII brought to all of our families and to most nations around the world. I think we have it “easy” to keep ourselves and our communities healthy, compared to the fear, terror and devastation millions suffered between 1939 and 1945.
Take heart Alfredians! We can and will set our minds to stopping the spread, as we wait for a vaccine!
