State College Mayor Ron Filippelli released a video update Monday on the Borough’s current status and the spread and containment of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.

Filippelli urged community members to follow instructions on social distancing and crowd avoidance.

“We are strictly following directions from the CDC, other Federal agencies, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” he said.

Filippelli called the pandemic a “fast-moving problem” and said that it was difficult to anticipate a future response. He urged community members to check for updates on the Borough website’s coronavirus-specific page.

Filippelli sympathized with those who have already been impacted economically in the Borough, including small business owners, due to the closure of or restrictions placed on businesses.

“There is little that the Borough can do at the local level to deal with such problems,” he said. “But I assure you that I and my colleagues will be urging our congressmen and senators to pass legislation to provide the support the financially most vulnerable.”

Though no cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Centre County, the local community has already been severely impacted by the pandemic. Penn State cancelled all in-person classes and switched to remote learning through at least April 3 last Wednesday, and Governor Tom Wolf ordered a statewide shutdown Monday due to the spread of the virus.

The State College Borough Council will meet tonight at 7 p.m. (community members are encouraged to attend virtually) and hear an update on the local action to combat the spread of the virus from two Borough health officials. Council is also expected to pass legislation related to the virus at tonight’s meeting.