It’s Peter Gary, publisher of the Boca Voice. Welcome to the April edition of our monthly newsletter.
My usual greeting comes with concerns for our well-being as we face this global pandemic. But Boca Raton is nothing if not relentlessly optimistic. And prepared.
I hope you’re among the thousands of Boca Voice users who are following breaking news on our Facebook page every day.
You’ll find Boca’s two hospitals told us they have sufficient personal protective equipment for their medical staffs and they’re ready for an influx of patients. Boca Raton Regional and West Boca Medical have set up tents outside, just in case. And West Boca is accepting donations of PPEs like gloves and masks.
The county and city have closed their respective recreational facilities and asked residents not to go out except to buy food and other necessities. They’re hoping so-called “social distancing” will mitigate the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus. We all want these strategies to work.
Palm Beach County public schools would have returned from spring break on Monday. On Tuesday the district launched its online instruction through Google Classroom. And the superintendent advised parents and students to take it one day at a time. That’s good advice for the rest of us.
I hope everyone’s supporting our local restaurants that chose to stay open and provide takeout and delivery. That helps keep people working.
Passover starts April 8 and Easter Sunday is April 12. We may be observing these holidays virtually this year, but they both have an inspirational message in times of crisis.
We are all looking forward to the day when we can all be back together in our wonderful community. Please keep up the efforts to support one another. As people of Boca Raton, we have shown how united we all are in challenging times.
Keep in mind, we live in a world class city that bands together in good and bad times, which is why we are the community that we are. After all, it’s a community of diverse people who love serving and helping people. What better time in modern history could we have to show the world just how strong of a community Boca Raton is. Boca truly is that special place. Over the last few weeks, we have seen both the best and the worst in people. But over all locally, I have seen nothing but people going out of their way trying to help their neighbor.
Businesses are going out of their way to help their employees and guests. I have also witnessed, like you, first responders once again rise to the occasion, despite which way political wind is blowing. They serve us to a level, to heights we could not expect and if it was our family member, we would be worried. These brave men and women in some cases sleep in their cars to make sure their families are safe. So let’s all say a prayer for our First Responders and Health Care providers
Peter Gary
