Howell Township Coronavirus Update

Press release from Howell Township:

April 9, 2020

4/9/2020 - From the Howell Township Governing Body

April 9, 2020
To the residents of Howell Township,

We hope this update finds you all healthy. By now, we are sure that you have seen that Howell Township has been separately posting regular updates as to our numbers of residents that have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Often these numbers will vary by a few from those posted by Monmouth County in their update. Howell receives a list from the County. It is then scrutinized by our Police Department who verifies the addresses. The total posted by Howell Township comes from those verified addresses by our Police Department. As widely reported in the news, we are expecting these numbers to continue to climb as more people are being tested now. Regardless of what that number may be, we cannot emphasize enough to our residents to maintain social distancing!

Howell Township has recently followed the State’s lead, in closing parks completely
earlier this week. Although we had attempted to leave them open to passive recreation, we found
that people were still congregating, leaving us no choice but a complete closure. We ask for
your strictest compliance with this order. If you should see persons violating this order, it should
be reported to the Howell Township Police Department via their non-emergency number 732-
938-4111.

Yesterday, Governor Murphy signed Executive Order #122, which among other things,
mandates the wearing of facial coverings at all essential retail locations. While social distancing
is the most widely advocated prevention technique, it is understood that this may not always be
possible at retail locations. As a secondary line of defense, all persons should wear a covering
over their mouth and nose. Residents are discouraged from using the N95 mask, as we would
hope they would be reserved for use by Public Safety and our Medical Professionals. Please
review the CDC’s recommendations for Cloth Face Coverings for further information on proper
wearing and making your own masks. If you feel a business is not doing their part by requiring
visitors to wear a mask, please contact our Code Enforcement at 732-938-4500 x2906 to advise
them.

Howell Township has received notification that Primary Elections have been postponed
until July 7, 2020. Please continue to monitor the Howell website and the Monmouth County
Clerks Office, as updates will be posted as they come available.

In the event our resident’s employment has been adversely affected, New Jersey has
created a hiring portal for those businesses that may still be hiring. https://jobs.covid19.nj.gov/
for further information.

Finally, we wish to thank our residents for their caring, graciousness and understanding
during these trying times. While it certainly has been frustrating for all; the Howell Township
Staff has constantly relayed how considerate the public has been, knowing that we have been
working with reduced staffing and their requests are taking longer than normal to accommodate.
Whether it has been from filling an OPRA request, receipt of a permit or inspection, or donating
food to our Senior Citizen’s program and Food Bank, Howell residents have truly shown what
they are made of during this crisis. For this, we thank you all.

Please continue to monitor the Howell Township website, http://www.twp.howell.nj.us/covid19, where we will be posting regular updates as they come available. Additionally, we have implemented a phone number, 732-961-5111 where the information contained in this letter will be conveyed. This number should be made available to any person who may not have a computer or internet access. Furthermore, residents can either visit https://www.nj211.org/ or dial 2-1-1 from any phone for more information about the COVID19 virus and for resources available.

Additional Info...

This press release was produced by Howell Township. The views expressed here are the author’s own.