Towns like Teaneck are taking measures to curb COVID-19 transmissions. The town has announced that all of the municipal buildings in town will be closed to the public for the next few weeks.

Teaneck officials say that the town has an average of 5-10 new cases of the virus a day. This past weekend they saw nearly 100 new cases between Saturday and Sunday. It was an alarming spike for a town that was once considered ground zero for the virus in New Jersey.

“We’ve come a long way in curtailing this. But I don’t want this to spiral out of control again,” says Teaneck Township Manager Dean Kazinci.

He says that he knows that shutting down the buildings is frustrating. But he says that he has to keep the public out for everyone’s safety.

Teaneck has a population of 41,000 residents. The town has seen 5,000 cases of the virus and 124 deaths in just under two years.

“We had to go back to what we did early on, and that’s close the municipal building to the public. It does not mean we aren’t providing services, but we will limit the number of people coming in and out of this building,” Kazinci says.

Teaneck’s Holy Name Medical Center, once overflowing with COVID patients, is holding steady with an average of 30-35 patients at a time. There have not been any recent spikes there. Kazinci says that this proves that vaccines and boosters work. He says that along with extra steps, like the shutdown, Teaneck will get through the holiday season safely and healthily.

“They are tough decisions, but easy decisions for me, because the goal is to keep everyone safe. And I think our residents understand that and our workforce understands that,” Kazinci says.

The municipal buildings are expected to reopen by mid-January. Kazinci says that he will work with local health officials to make a final decision.