The Wrap: COVID-19 and Municipalities

‘The Wrap’ is a feature from the Herald editorial team that offers our take on the news of the week. Get ‘The Wrap’ in your inbox every Monday by signing up at https://bit.ly/HeraldWrap. Learn more about J. Byrne Insurance.
Nov. 30-Dec. 6
Pandemic’s Numbers are Volatile
The first week of December (Nov. 30-Dec. 6) saw COVID-19 numbers that require a second look to be understood. 
The week had 345 new county resident cases reported, more cases in one week than in any month, from March to October. 
Yet, the number of active cases in the county declined by 27, going from 547, at the beginning of the week, to 520.
How does this happen? The Cape May County Health Department, following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for quarantines, was able to remove more people from the active list (remove them from quarantine) than the number of new cases that arose.
It is this volatility in the numbers that makes some wonder how to react when there’s a daily report (Dec. 5) of 69 new cases. What can inform people’s actions are trends like the high volume of new cases in November.
Key to some understanding of the meaning behind the numbers is the fact that while 80% or more of infected individuals have no symptoms, or mild-to-moderate experiences with illness, others develop severe complications. 
This week, the county reported eight new COVID-19 fatalities. That represents more deaths in a week than in September and October combined.
A rapid rise in new cases will inevitably lead to a rapid rise in off-quarantine individuals, most of whom will not suffer serious health problems, but it will also create a growing number of individuals who develop complications and can overburden the local medical system.
Cape Regional Medical Center, as of Dec. 1, reported a small decline in COVID-19 cases over what it reported the week before, moving from 21 total patients to 16, from Nov. 24 to Dec. 1. Yet, the number of individuals requiring intensive care grew from four to nine.  
The numbers are a snapshot at a specific point in time during a period of volatility and rapid change. No matter how many individuals can be moved off quarantine, new positive test reports that are consistently high daily are a sign to use caution and follow Health Department directives concerning safety protocols.
The rapid rise in new case counts posed difficulty for schools. Where in-school transmission may be low, the high level of community spread outside the schools is causing large numbers of students and staff to enter quarantine regimens. Some schools had to temporarily move to virtual instruction, while dealing with staffing shortages. 
In Stone Harbor, six water and sewer employees were required to quarantine after one member tested positive, exposing others to possible infection. 
These quarantinesdon’t appear on the Health Department’s daily releases because they are not individuals who have, or will, necessarily test positive for the virus. Yet, work schedules are interrupted, and services impacted.
The Cape May-Lewes Ferry was forced to suspend foot passengers, as a precaution. The courts continue to be impacted, although virtual grand jury sessions are being held to try and clear the backlog of pending indictments.
With widespread availability of a vaccine months away, a jerry-rigged normal that remains volatile will continue to be the context within which people act.
The state issued new outdoor gathering limits in response to rising case counts across New Jersey. State health officials also released guidelines for safe celebration of winter holidays.
Municipalities Enter Quiet Period
The normal rhythms of the shore usher in a quiet period, from December through February, when municipalities can address issues put on hold during the busy summer. It is a time of activity in the absence of crowds.
This, of course, is no normal year. There are signs of increased population. 
In Cape May, the governing body is preparing to extend its allowance of outdoor seating and open alcohol consumption beyond the Dec. 31 date, when they were set to expire. Outdoordining was a home run in a summer of restrictions, and many don’t want to see it end.
No one is sure what the future of thelocal economy will look like, but some of the flexibilities that businesses were allowed will vie for status in the new normal, beginning next summer.
Wildwood took the step of deregulating its taxis. The full implications of that action are unclear, city officials said.
Also, Wildwood is preparing to request county Open Space funds for a $1.6 million project to upgrade Maxwell Field. Meanwhile, the city reached a $325,000 settlement with a woman whose 2018 beach arrest was caught on video and went viral on social media.
Police are preparing for the annual holiday crackdown on impaired drivers, while the state warns that lottery tickets are not appropriate gifts for minors.
As municipal budget processes kick into gear, Wildwood Crest Borough Commissioners are looking to an ambitious set of capital projects, with “no spikes in tax rate.”
Cape May adopted an ordinance that will help move 10 acres of city property to the Recreation and Open Space Inventory, increasing the likelihood that the property will not be used for development in the future. 
Cape May City Council also withdrew a pending ordinance that would have banned invasive species of plants and trees over enforcement concerns.
Cape May was among 19 municipalities that will receive a state grant, which the city will use to aid local businesses.
The new VA Clinic, in Rio Grande, planned to open Dec. 8, meeting a long-standing need for accessible health care options for the county’s veterans.
Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal provided new guidance on how law enforcement should deal with low-level marijuana infractions.
And…
The Coast Guard suspended the search for a man reported missing after a fishing vessel was found overturned near Cape May.
Warming centers will not open as part of the county’s Code Blue response due to the pandemic. Instead, the county will fall back on the old system of vouchers for rooms in motels.
A beach box construction program benefits shore visitors by providing a secure place for beach supplies, and teaches skills to inmates in state prisons.