Skip to content

A town square for an unsquare town

redbankgreen

Standing for the vitality of Red Bank, its community, and the fun we have together.

RED BANK: MASK MANDATE EXPECTED

red-bank-pallone-menna-010122-2-500x331-8034877Mayor Pasquale Menna, right, and Congressman Frank Pallone were masked-up at the Red Bank reorganization January 1. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot-topic_02-220x137-6360205Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna is expected to issue an executive order mandating indoor mask-wearing to slow the spread of the resurgent COVID-19 virus.

The order, which could come as soon as Thursday, was motivated by “the pain that is being felt in our community,” Menna said at the monthly council workshop Wednesday night.

new-jersey-covid-hospitalizations-011322-500x154-3595070Hospitalizations for COVID-19 have soared statewide since late November, above. Recent infection totals among Red Bank residents, below. (New Jersey Health Department graphic, above; Monmouth County data, below. Click to enlarge)

red-bank-covid-19-infections-011222-220x136-2831937The order is expected to mirror one that took effect Friday in Asbury Park. That mandate, while exempting children under the age of three, says:

Masks will be required in all indoor public settings such as government facilities, restaurants, bars, gyms, dance studios, recreation facilities, retail stores, cafes, supermarkets, convenience stores places of worship, commercial establishments, salons, barbershops, banks, healthcare facilities, and hotels.

Employees and patrons of these facilities must wear a facemask at all times except when actively eating or drinking or when socially distanced at least six feet apart from all others for an extended period of time, such as in an office setting when seated at desks; when performing for an audience; or when conducting worship services.

The aim is to reduce the spread of the virus and “keep people out of hospitals to minimize the strain on our healthcare system and potentially save lives,” Mayor John Moor said at the time.

While Governor Phil Murphy said earlier this week that he would not reimpose a statewide mask mandate, Red Bank would join a growing list of New Jersey municipalities that have acted to do so.

Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken and New Brunswick have adopted mask mandates in recent weeks, as have smaller municipalities, including Morristown and Montclair, according to NorthJersey.com.

New COVID-19 infection totals have been rising at rates seen early in the pandemic, and while the omicron variant of the virus is significantly less lethal and than earlier variants, it is landing record numbers of patients in hospitals.

As of late Wednesday, 5,933 beds in New Jersey’s 71 hospitals were being used by COVID-19 patients, with 547 of them on ventilators, according to the New Jersey Health Department.

Since December 2, Red Bank’s cumulative infection total since the pandemic began has soared by 33 percent, to 2,638 cases as of Monday, according to Monmouth County government.

Menna cited “the covid numbers, and the pain that is being felt in our community,” in calling for masks.

All six council members informally endorsed the move, including Councilman Ed Zipprich, who said he had lost two in-laws to the pandemic.

“I think if we’re really going to nip this thing in the bud, we all have to take a proactive stance,” he said.

The order won’t have sharp teeth, though.

Interim Business Administrator Darren McConnell, who also serves as police chief, noted that “there’s no enforcement arm for the police department to enforce this, so I would just recommend the onus be put on the location and not the government to enforce that.

“We weren’t even allowed to enforce the governor’s mask mandates without clearance from the [Monmouth County] prosecutor’s office, so I find it hard to believe the prosecutor’s office would give us clearance to enforce this one,” he said. “So it really can’t be on the police department or code enforcement.”

The mandate came up during a council discussion begun by Councilman Michael Ballard, who called for a temporary end to public gatherings at borough hall, without shutting the building down for daily operations.

The council has not met indoors in person since March, 2020. But last summer, the planning board and zoning board, which are autonomous, and the Historic Preservation Commission resumed in-person meetings in the council chamber. For its first two meetings, the newly empaneled Charter Study Commission also met in person.

All have now agreed to conduct meetings via Zoom through February, officials said.

If you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen, please become a financial supporter for as little as $1 per month. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
redbankgreen Classics
Partyline
THIS LOT IS GOING TO POT!!
Do NOT hit this monster pothole in Red Bank’s best parking lot for people watching or your weekend plans may go up in smoke. In the backgr ...
DEM GOV HOPEFUL FULOP VISITS RED BANK
110 people braved the ice on Super Bowl Sunday morning to head to Triumph Brewery to hear Steve Fulop’s case for why he should be our ...
REAL BRICKS!
Pardon our nerdiness, but we were excited to see the facade of the long-vacant building at 42 Monmouth being renovated with a facade that ap ...
NAVESINK SUNRISE
Sunrise colors Sunday over the Navesink. Shot from Maple Cove. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
PET OWNER TO RED BANK: SCREW YOU
(photo and text by Partyline contributor Anna Cruz; headline by redbankgreen) Remember to scoop the poop!  
A HAIR DRYER IN A TREE?
(Photo and text by Partyline contributor Nicole Taetsch) If someone is missing a red hair dryer, it’s hanging from a tree on Oakland S ...
FROM DEEP LEFT FIELD..
(Photo and words by Partyline contributor Peter Cavalier) Shapes, Angles, and Colors: an Artist’s Canvas Where: A frigid Saturday morn ...
SUNSET ICE BOATING
Sunset ice boating Saturday. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
ICY NAVESINK BLISS
Ice boating is back, baby! (Photo by partyline contributor Boris Kofman)
TEACHERS GET COUNCIL KUDOS
The Mayor and Borough Council honored five teachers from the Red Bank Borough Schools who were selected for the Governor’s Educator of the ...
RED BANK LIBRARY HEAD BIDS ADIEU
Eleni Glykis in her last day on the job in Red Bank Thursday (photo by Brian Donohue) redbankgreen stopped in the Red Bank Public Library to ...
TO TOWER HILL!
Parents and kids flocked to Tower Hill on Monday morning, taking advantage of the federal holiday and perfectly timed Sunday snowfall.
BROAD STREET IN WHITE
Taken during the snowstorm Sunday. (Photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
Stunning Sunrise at Marine Park
Sunday’s sunrise from Marine Park. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)  
WALL STREET CLOSED FOR LEAK
Wall Street in Red Bank closed for water leak.
INDOOR SOCCER KICKS OFF
Pre-k and kindergarten aged kids were at Red Bank Middle School bright and early Sunday, participating in the indoor soccer program hosted b ...
SUNSET OVER FROZEN NAVESINK RIVER
Sunset colors Saturday evening over the ice shot from  Shrewsbury Ave. (Photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)  
ICY VIEW FROM TRAIN WINDOW
View of the partially frozen Navesink River Saturday afternoon from NJCL Train #7244. (Photo by Partyline contributor Karly Swaim)
RBR BEATS RBC IN BOYS HOOPS RIVALRY
 Red Bank Regional's boys basketball came out with the win at home against their crosstown rivals Red Bank Catholic on Tuesday in Little Si ...
FRIGID DINNER FOR WATER LINE WORKERS
Work continued into the late night hours on Bank Street Tuesday night as a crew replaced several water lines to homes under the town wide le ...