Update From Mayor Fernandez About The 2020 Census And Coronavirus

Press release from the Livingston Township:

March 25, 2020

If you’re home thinking about what to do next, how about completing your 2020 Census?

You can complete your form online, by phone, or by mail. Visit my2020census.gov to begin.

The results of the 2020 Census will help determine how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding flow into communities every year for the next decade. That funding shapes many different aspects of every community, no matter the size, no matter the location. Let’s make sure Livingston gets counted!

So far, the New Jersey response rate is currently at 23%, and Livingston’s response rate is at 30.1%. Let’s all do our part to get to 100%!

More information

March 25, 2020: COVID-19 Numbers, Safety Reminders, and Essex County Testing Facility

As of March 25, 2020, the Livingston Health Department has reported that a total of 36 Livingston residents have tested positive for COVID-19. There are currently 437 positive cases in Essex County. The Livingston Health Department is continuing the monitoring process to identify locations and persons with whom the affected individuals had contact.

As the weather gets warmer, more residents will want to go outside and walk and exercise. Please avoiding close contact, stay at least 6 feet away from others, don’t let your children travel or hang around together in groups whether in the streets or at the parks and don’t let them participate in any type of group sports. Again, we can’t stress enough the necessity to follow these very simple rules to help keep Livingston healthy.

Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr., Freeholder President Brendan Gill and Vice President Wayne Richardson announced today that Essex County will be opening a drive-through testing site for Essex County residents who are symptomatic of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Essex County Weequahic Park in Newark. The site will open on Thursday, March 26th and Saturday, March 28th when 100 tests per day will be administered; it will then be open next week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday when 150 tests per day will be administered each day.

The testing site is for Essex County residents; appointments are mandatory. Residents must arrive by car. Residents can visit www.EssexCOVID.org, where they will be required to complete a short online screening process before an appointment is scheduled. Residents will be asked several health-related questions and detail any symptoms they have related to the coronavirus. Upon completion of the survey, they will be informed if they are eligible for the screening. If they are eligible, a confirmation number will be provided; residents must bring the confirmation number with them to their appointment.

On Tuesday, March 24, 2020, Governor Murphy signed an executive order allowing the following stores to open as essential retail stores:

1. Mobile phone retail and repair shops.
2. Bicycle shops, but only to provide service and repair.
3. Livestock feed stores.
4. Nurseries and garden centers.
5. Farming equipment stores.

Also on March 24, 2020, Governor Murphy announced the launch of a new online portal to connect New Jersey residents with jobs in critical industries responding to COVID-19. The jobs portal is available here: jobs.covid19.nj.gov. Employers in critical industries should submit information about openings with urgent hiring needs related to COVID19 here: jobs.covid19.nj.gov/intake.

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