Mayor requesting voluntary shopping restrictions to slow COVID-19 spread

Mayor Michele Dale on Thursday asked that residents voluntarily restrict the number of trips they make to the store to one day a week based on the alphabet and the last name.

In a post on Facebook Thursday afternoon, Dale said the community is seeing more and more cases confirmed of the COVID-19 virus each day, and that she is asking residents to limit trips to the store to help slow the spread.

“Every time you go to the grocery store, you are putting yourself and others at risk,” Dale’s post said. “Starting today, Thursday, March 26, 2020, please voluntarily limit your trip to the grocery store to once a week, according to the following alphabetical schedule. Again, at this time, this is a voluntary effort.”

She said the idea came from a resident.

Last Name Shopping Days:

A-B Tuesday

C-E Wednesday

F-H Thursday

I-L Friday

M-P Saturday

Q-S Sunday

T-Z Monday

In addition, the shopping hours of 7-8 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays would be reserved for senior citizens, pregnant women, and immune-compromised individuals.

“Please try to follow this schedule while shopping in our community, whether it is the ShopRite in West Milford, the Acme in Oak Ridge, or any store in a nearby community,” she said in the post. “The more people who follow this schedule, the more we will prevent overcrowding in our grocery stores, and the safer our entire community will be. If we find certain days are much more/less crowded, we can adjust this schedule accordingly. Thank you for giving this a try.”

She said the number of cases, officially at nine as of Thursday morning, continues to grow and that residents are reaching out to her even before Passaic County officially notifies her.

Of the nine official cases, three had contact with the high school, including a 42-year-old man that attended a school play on March 12, a female cafeteria worker related to the man, and a man that accompanied the girls and boys lacrosse teams to a training event in Florida, according to schools Superintendent Dr. Alex Anemone.

Both the 42-year-old, who was the first confirmed case in the township, and the woman related to him were hospitalized, according to officials.

Local health officials are tracing back the contacts that these individuals may have had to see if anyone else is infected.

Details are sparse regarding four of the cases, and the other two are a 26-year-old man and a 35-year-old female healthcare worker.