Parsippany Mayor On COVID Fatigue: We Have To Meet This Moment

PARSIPPANY, NJ - As the COVID-19 numbers in Morris County continue to rise, officials across the Garden State are cautioning residents about pandemic fatigue. And Parsippany Mayor Michael Soriano is among them.

“We are all suffering from pandemic fatigue. COVID has altered the way we live for the better part of a year," Soriano said in a statement. "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."

Soriano noted that everyone is tired ad that it is tempting or even liverating 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," he said. "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."

Soriano said 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," he said. "We don’t know how it could impact you one, two, or five years after recovery."

For his part, Soriano said he believes those risks must give everyone pause and the focus needs to remain on beating COVID-19, not ignoring 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," he said. "We are dealing with a pathogen that does not recognize borders, intentions, or time. If it can spread, it will spread."

Soriano said all of the sacrifices made throughout 2020 could be reversed 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," he said. "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."

As for the ability to do it, Soriano said he has no doubts.

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

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