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Thursday night’s Board of Alders meeting.
The Board of Alders threw its rhetorical support behind healthcare heroes, low-income workers, the importance of collaboration, and the efficacy of social distancing in its first set of coronavirus-related legislation passed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Local legislators unanimously passed those resolutions Thursday night during the most recent full Board of Alders meeting, which took place online via the Zoom tele-conferencing app.
The full board meeting was originally slated to take place next Monday, but alders pushed it forward in order to expedite a vote on four coronavirus-related resolutions as well as on an indemnification order that the mayor’s office said is critical for securing support from private partners during the pandemic.
The four resolutions are largely symbolic in scope. They don’t impose any new mandates or definitively establish any new local programs or initiatives designed to protect New Haveners’ health, mitigate the spread of the infectious respiratory disease, or help them stay financially solvent as the country almost certainly prepares to enter into a recession.
Rather, they signal the alders’ recognition of how serious the public health and economic crises incited by the novel coronavirus outbreak are, and call out those working hardest to keep society functioning, those who have been hardest hurt, those best positioned to help, and public strategies most effective at saving people’s lives.
The first resolution saluted and expressed “extreme gratitude” for doctors, nurses, emergency responders, grocery store workers, waste management collectors, and other “frontline” workers whose labor is essential to the continuation of society during the pandemic.
“We need to let them know that we recognize and appreciate their dedication to the residents and visitors of this city,” said Quinnipiac Meadows Alder and retired police Captain Gerald Antunues (pictured). Click here to read the full resolution.
The second resolution expressed the alders’ support for low-income and hourly workers suffering during the Covid-19 pandemic as well as for “efforts to provide them with assistance to get them through this crisis.”
“A lot of our hourly workers cannot pay the bills, yet the bills are still coming in,” said Dixwell Alder Jeanette Morrison. Click here to read the full resolution.
The third resolution calls on all public and private organizations to collaborate and “pool resources together to provide immediate financial relief and assistance for New Haven’s most impacted by the economic crisis” caused by the pandemic.
“It’s very clear that this is a seminal event that’s going to have ripples throughout every facet of our society,” said Westville Alder Adam Marchand. “We do need to call on our partners and the entities that have the means to step up and help in this time of crisis. We need to pull together and call on those more fortunate to assist those in need.” Click here to read the full resolution. Click here to read the full resolution.
And the fourth resolution urges all city residents to practice “health promoting and life saving measures of social distancing, by remaining at home unless one must go out for essential business and by maintaining at least six feet from others when it is necessary to be out in public.”
“These measures are difficult and come with great social cost,” said Prospect Hill/Newhallville Alder Steve Winter (pictured). But they work at reducing the spread of the disease and keeping people safe and healthy. “In these dreadful, strange, and difficult times, we must stand together by staying apart.” Click here to read the full resolution.
“We Shall Overcome This”
Marchand delivering “divine guidance” Thursday.
The resolution votes came on the same day that the federal Labor Department announced that 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment last week in what is quickly escalating into an economic crisis of unprecedented proportions.
One New Havener has already died from Covid-19. Tthere are 133 confirmed local cases, though the actual number is likely much higher due to the relative inaccessibility of testing.
Mayor Justin Elicker declared a state of emergency around the virus well over two weeks ago, and has held daily press briefings ever since in which he and top aides have promoted public health measures and detailed his administration’s responses to the crisis.
Much of public life has consequently been turned upside down by local and state emergency orders, with schools and playgrounds and public library closed, bars and restaurants shuttered, people instructed to stay home unless they need to tend to emergency needs, social gatherings of five or more prohibited across the state, and hospitals bracing for a flood of patients in the coming month.
It’s also seen New Haveners from all wakes of life rally to support those most in need — with volunteers sewing face masks for emergency providers with limited supplies of personal protective equipment, grassroots mutual aid groups and large local institutions raising money to help New Haveners survive these crises, and soup kitchens stepping up to continue feeding the hungry.
“We shall overcome these challenges if we work together,” Marchand said at the start of the meeting during his turn presenting “divine guidance,” a rotating opportunity for a different alder to address his or her colleagues at the start of each full board meeting.
He focused his speech on Lent, the 40 days before Easter when many Christians forego activities important to their lives in order to deepen their reflection on the story of Jesus Christ.
He said his family has struggled with the hurt of not being able to attend their church this season because of the pandemic. He described the vast hardship and sickness this disease has caused.
“This is the most somber Lent I can remember.”
And he expressed gratitude for those who, through all this, work to feed the hungry, house the homeless, tend to the sick, and look out for friends, family, and strangers in need.
“Easter is coming,” he said. “Life will prevail over death.”