ON THE GREEN: MEETINGS MOVE ONLINE

Mar 23, 2020

Fair Haven Board of Ed members sat well-spaced at a meeting carried live on YouTube last week. (YouTube screen grab. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Fair Haven’s board of ed held its first-ever virtual meeting last Wednesday.

With five members seated well apart from one another in the Knollwood School gym to minimize the possible transmission of the COVID-19 virus, the board had a quorum. Four other members participated via the Zoom conferencing app. And the public, barred from appearing in person, chimed in via the chat function on YouTube, where the meeting was live-streamed.

Among the most frequent comments: “we can’t hear you.”

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March 23, 2020 - 12:15 pm |

VIRUS UPDATE: STATE CASE TOTAL SOARS

Mar 18, 2020

By JOHN T. WARD

New Jersey saw two more deaths and a sharp climb in the number of COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, state health officials reported Wednesday.

Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said at a daily press briefing that the number of cases rose to 427, up 162 from Tuesday, including eight additional cases in Monmouth County.

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March 18, 2020 - 3:15 pm |

RED BANK: FIRST COVID CASES DISCLOSED

Mar 17, 2020

Grandville Tower in Red Bank. (2013 photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

[See UPDATE below]

By JOHN T. WARD

Two residents of Red Bank’s Grandville Tower apartments are self-quarantined with the COVID-19 virus, the building’s owner informed tenants in a letter dated March 14.

They are the first reported patients of the global pandemic in the borough.

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March 17, 2020 - 6:00 pm |

VIRUS UPDATE: MONMOUTH CASES TOTAL 22

Mar 17, 2020

By JOHN T. WARD

New Jersey health officials reported eight new ‘positive’ cases of COVID-19 in Monmouth County Tuesday as the number statewide rose 50 percent from Monday overnight.

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March 17, 2020 - 3:20 pm |

VIRUS UPDATE: COUNTY REPORTS 14 CASES

Mar 16, 2020

By JOHN T. WARD

Monmouth County officials reported two additional ‘positive’ cases of COVID-19 Monday as the number statewide nearly doubled overnight.

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March 16, 2020 - 3:30 pm |

RED BANK: DISTRICT, CHARTER NOW CLOSED

Mar 13, 2020

Red Bank schools plan to roll out a “home learning” program in lieu of classroom time. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Ending short-lived holdouts, Red Bank’s district and charter schools will be closed Monday as they join the widespread shift to online instruction prompted by the global COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.

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March 13, 2020 - 5:15 pm |

RED BANK: SCHOOLS AT ‘LOW RISK,’ STAY OPEN

Mar 12, 2020

Red Bank’s schools provide multiple services to their families and “cannot be compared to neighboring towns,” said Superintendent Jared Rumage. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

While Little Silver and Shrewsbury schools quickly abandoned a joint local plan to remain open in the face of the global COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Red Bank’s will be open Friday, said Superintendent Jared Rumage.

But the pre-kindergarten-thru-8th-grade district intends to send students home early while administrators await “an official directive” on attendance from Trenton, he said.

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March 12, 2020 - 8:45 pm |

VIRUS UPDATE: YMCA SEEKS TO LIMIT SPREAD

Mar 10, 2020

The organization says its procedures “will continue to evolve” along with news about the coronavirus. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

[See update below]

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank’s YMCA is asking members whose children attend schools that have closed due to coronavirus concerns not to visit the facility.

Here’s a quick overview of precautionary measures being taken on the Greater Red Bank Green in light of COVID-19:

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March 10, 2020 - 8:00 am |