The uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic arrived in March as preparations for summer on Long Beach Island began; its harsh realities continue as officials and business owners formulate a new norm for the bustling season. The thrum of noise and traffic might roll in with a whimper, though, after Gov. Murphy’s social distancing directives were extended to June 7. 

“You can’t stop people from coming on the Island,” Surf City Mayor Francis Hodgson said last week.