By Allison Perrine
RED BANK – Amid the steep surge in COVID-19 cases nationwide, especially the highly contagious Omicron variant, Red Bank reinstated an indoor mask mandate in all borough-owned facilities and encourages others to do the same, officials announced Jan. 14.
Under a declaration of emergency issued by Mayor Pasquale “Pat” Menna, Red Bank visitors and employees will be required to wear face coverings in all borough-owned facilities with the exception of “very limited circumstances” where extended social distancing is possible. The order follows 22 months of “unprecedented illness and death” locally and globally, according to the borough.
“In order to protect the health and well-being of our residents, visitors and employees and to do our part locally in supporting our hospitals and health care workers, the mayor and governing body agree with health officials that the utilization of masks will slow the spread of this virus,” a press release from the borough read in part.
The declaration, which took effect Jan. 14 at 5 p.m., “strongly recommends” that other public-serving facilities in town follow suit, including restaurants, places of worship and retail establishments. Proper signage should be prominently displayed in front of the location to warn patrons before entering, it suggests. The order will remain in effect until further notice and when appropriate “based on the current health environment,” the release stated.
Additionally, the governing body and related agencies in town have decided that all meetings will be held virtually until further notice and such time when officials feel the public health emergency is relieved “to a point that it is safe to reconvene in person.”
“These variants are coming and going and I think we just have to play it by ear,” said Red Bank Councilwoman Kathy Horgan at a Jan. 12 meeting when the topic was discussed.
Similar mandates have already been enacted in other Monmouth County towns, including Asbury Park. On Jan. 7 at noon, the city put into effect a mask mandate for everyone over the age of 3. Not only does it impact city-owned facilities but also gyms, restaurants, bars, dance studios, banks, health care facilities and more. It will be in effect until further notice.
“Our number one priority is the health and safety of our community,” said Mayor John Moor in a statement. “By having more people wear masks indoors, we hope to reduce the spread and keep people out of hospitals to minimize the strain on our healthcare system and potentially save lives. Our goal is to shorten the time it will take to get back to some kind of normalcy without negatively impacting our local businesses and residents in their daily lives.”
On the other hand, some municipalities in the Two River area feel such measures are unnecessary at this time. Middletown, for example, does not plan to impose a mask mandate now, though officials opted not to comment on the matter further.
According to the latest data available from Monmouth County, between Jan. 13 and 18 the county saw an additional 4,059 positive COVID-19 cases and 22 deaths related to the virus. In the Two River area specifically, since the start of the pandemic there have been 652 confirmed cases in Atlantic Highlands, 2,140 in Colts Neck, 1,011 in Fair Haven, 643 in Highlands, 3,141 in Holmdel, 1,179 in Little Silver, 13,111 in Middletown, 604 in Monmouth Beach, 1,305 in Oceanport, 2,817 in Red Bank, 1,304 in Rumson, 243 in Sea Bright, 975 in Shrewsbury Borough and 3,568 in Tinton Falls.
During last week’s State of the State address, Gov. Phil Murphy noted that there are currently more people in New Jersey hospitals with COVID-19 today than there were “at any point since the spring of 2020” when the pandemic first surged.
“We are seeing new case counts that dwarf anything we’d seen to this point – upwards of four times as many New Jerseyans have COVID today than did one year ago. Thirty thousand new cases a day. More new cases day-to- day than even at the pandemic’s start,” he said Jan. 11.
Murphy again renewed his public health emergency declaration this month and encourages residents to get vaccinated, wear masks and take other precautions. He has not reinstated a mandatory indoor mask mandate which was in effect in 2020.
“We are all in this together, and we must keep moving forward together. But try as it may to knock us back and further divide us, one thing is certain – Omicron has not knocked us down,” he said. “In fact, despite all the challenges, we continue to move New Jersey forward.”
This article originally appeared in the Jan. 20-26, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
