As the coronavirus threat to the country intensifies, mental health advocate and congressional candidate Amy Kennedy today called on President Donald Trump and Congressman Jeff Van Drew to provide New Jerseyans with a real plan to contain the growing national health threat.

“This isn’t a game,” said Kennedy. This is a national health crisis. And yet the only things President Trump and Republican leaders seem to be worried about are the stock market and Trump’s re-election campaign.”

“We need real leadership, now more than ever,” continued Kennedy. “We need to know what’s going on. We need verifiable, accurate information from our government as to the extent of the threat, and we need someone to stand up for New Jersey. We need to be on the front lines of prevention, containment and mitigation if and when it spreads to our shores.”

“If Jeff Van Drew is so close to Donald Trump now, why doesn’t he call on his new best friend for more funding, transparency and coordination to provide relief from the most dangerous health outbreak of our time?”

Kennedy laid out what she sees as the parameters for a meaningful response plan:

· We need to make sure that our health system is prepared—including by providing the emergency funding experts say is necessary to fight the disease.

· Congressional Republicans—including Jeff Van Drew—need to put politics aside and help secure the resources we need.

· They also need to provide effective oversight of the Trump administration’s response. This is especially true of the Homeland Security Committee, on which Van Drew sits.

· We need to make sure the public is fully informed. We can prevent unnecessary panic by taking the appropriate steps to prepare and by keeping lines of communication open.

· We need to support mental health providers. It is natural to worry about the virus. Telling people to “stop being hysterical” does nothing to help and only exacerbates public concern.

· Finally, we need to improve our access to safe and affordable medicines and prescription drugs.

“It’s past time for the adults in the room to stand up and take over,” said Kennedy.

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