The Town of North Haven saw a spike in confirmed coronavirus cases last week with 61 as of April 12. In his address to the town on April 7, First Selectman Mike Freda announced the first COVID-19-related fatality in town as well as having a town employee bedridden due to the virus.

“There was a spike on April 5 and I was very surprised at how quickly the numbers had multiplied,” said Freda, noting that “seeing it firsthand causes us to pause and reflect about how treacherous and ferocious that this COVID-19 can be.”

In addition to seeing the effects of the virus from a health standpoint, Freda noted that the financial impacts are becoming more apparent: Ruby Tuesday’s has permanent closed and Cinemark is closing indefinitely. There were also more than three dozen economic development projects in the works that have been put on hold during the pandemic.

Despite these repercussions, Freda is optimistic about the town’s financial standing as North Haven is financially in a “strong position with healthy reserves.” He and town administrators are in the process of streamlining the process of presenting the town budget.

“Some of the surrounding municipalities have started to announce tax increases,” said Freda. “Not only will there not be a mill rate increase, there will be a mill rate decrease here in North Haven.”

Despite town offices being closed to the public, many town staff are still at work with the Fire, Police, and Public Works departments still operating at full capacity. The town has continued to clean and sanitize “every nook and cranny” of town buildings and vehicles as well as equip town employees with the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE).

“We’re operating now with a different set of dynamics and finding that we’re fielding a lot more phone calls from the public and from businesses who need help,” said Freda. “We will help you, we will talk to you, we will do everything we can to help solve any problems you may have. As we walk this tightrope together, this administration and yours truly will always face a challenge like this, a tremendous challenge, with a tremendous amount of courage, a tremendous amount of clarity, focus, and conviction to defeat this enemy.”

With the influx of calls, Freda encourages residents to be patient as the staff works to return phone calls. He also thanked the public for responding to the request for being sure to properly bag all garbage to help prevent the spread of the virus through loose trash.

A new issue that he and the state are now dealing with is the improper disposal of gloves and masks. Freda said that the number of discarded masks and gloves in parking lots has been “disappointing.”

Freda asks that residents properly dispose of masks and gloves after use. He also noted that if residents see discarded masks and gloves, they can report them to the Quinnipiack Valley Health District at 203-248-4528.

Freda said experts are predicting the apex of COVID-19 cases to hit the North Haven area around April 22 and he encourages residents to continue social distancing and other safe practices.

“Once we get through that, things may subside, but we cannot let our guard down—this invisible enemy could come back,” said Freda. “Once we get beyond the apex, we still have to practice a tremendous amount of vigilance and do what we have to do to drive this out once and for all.”