The ‘Fight to Save Summer’ is On

To access the Herald’s local coronavirus/COVID-19 coverage, click here.
COURT HOUSE – While saying that keeping Cape May County closed for summer would be a catastrophe, Middle Township Mayor Timothy Donohue argued that finding a way to safely open the county is “a fight we must win.”
Donohue made his remarks at the township’s council meeting April 21, adding that reopening the county is “not an option.”
“People need to realize what this means,” Donohue said. “If we do not have a summer, we lose $6 billion in tourist revenue and $550 million in tax revenue. You have to balance the protection of the public health with what would be an economic crisis that could last for years in the county.”
The mayor also looked ahead to fall and winter, where many residents would lack summer’s income and also see the end of unemployment funds. He called it a “defining moment” for elected officials.
Using the analogy of a three-way light bulb, he called for a plan that would gradually reopen the county to tourism.
“We need to be able to turn the light to its dimmest level at first,” he said.
Saying that time was of the essence, Donohue called on other mayors and county officials to formulate a plan quickly. That approach led to a township Business Recovery Task Force, created in partnership with the Middle Township Chamber of Commerce.  The goal of the task force is to coordinate resources and information that might aid small businesses through prolonged closures.
The current focus of the task force is to “establish an online clearinghouse for grants, loans and all information relevant to small business owners.” A business recovery task force at the county level has also been formed. That group seeks to develop a coordinated reopening of parts of the county’s economy.
Donohue’s remarks came as the William Hughes Center, at Stockton University, was releasing its estimates of the impact of the lockdown on the South Jersey economy. Calling the regional economy “disproportionately affected by the lockdown,” the center’s forecast predicted losses in real GNP relative to 2019 of between a low of $2.1 billion and a high of $5.1 billion.
The center’s report focused on two major variables, which are estimates of when the region can return to “some semblance of normalcy” and the percentage of economic activity that will be lost after that transpires.
Donohue’s remarks also coincided with an April 21 state report, in which New Jersey deaths due to the coronavirus hit their highest single-day total since the pandemic began in the state. Gov. Phil Murphy reiterated his stance that he cannot lift lockdown orders until testing capacity is at least twice what it is.
Donohue pointed to the significantly lower level of contagion in the state’s four most southern counties. The number of cases in Salem, Cumberland, Atlantic and Cape May counties amounts to “less than 2% of the state total,” he said. While not calling for an immediate reopening, the mayor pushed for “some kind of plan to formulate quickly.”
According to remarks made by Stone Harbor mayor Judith Davies-Dunhour, at a borough council meeting immediately following that call, the building consensus appears to be a reopening of the beaches in the first week of May, with restrictions on how the beaches may be used.  She warned that no decisions had been made. She indicated that the county was seeking a uniform reopening across the municipalities, rather than a series of disparate local decisions.
A conference call of state, county and municipal officials the day after Donohue made his remarks focused on when the county might reopen its beaches, as a first and necessary step to any renewed economic activity.
As county residents wait for a plan for moving forward, Donohue urged everyone to continue to follow social distancing guidelines. He singled out young people, reminding them of their responsibility to protect others by not becoming a conduit for spreading the virus.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.