In addition to a running text thread to allow all Staten Island elected officials to communicate with each other simultaneously, and to collectively share information, we have established what will be a daily conference call to coordinate our efforts. Today’s call focused on securing the needs of our two hospital systems, attempting to unclog the flow of county specific information and data, expressing our ongoing bewilderment and concerns about schools not officially closing, and our strenuous belief that this next week is critical in terms of containment efforts.

After reading the bleak predictions and emphatic counsel of medical and scientific experts across the country, after seeing other cities and nations imposing curfews or shutting businesses and gathering places, and after hearing widespread accounts of people willfully ignoring social distancing in establishments across the city, state and nation, we strongly encourage Staten Islanders to re-evaluate their social distancing behavior.

READ MORE: Staten Island officials call on residents to reevaluate social distancing behavior