A woman with her face covered by a scarf speaks with a motorist on Elm Place in Red Bank Tuesday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
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By JOHN T. WARD
An awful “paradox” was evident as deaths from COVID-19 soared and the number of new cases continued to ease in New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy said Wednesday.
Governor Phil Murphy removes a protective mask at the start of his daily crisis briefing Tuesday. (YouTube screengrab. Click to enlarge.)
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By JOHN T. WARD
After a two-day lull, the deaths of another 232 New Jersey residents have been attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Phil Murphy said Tuesday.
At the same time, recent data suggest a possible “flattening” of new coronavirus cases, he said.
Monmouth County’s COVID-19 death toll nearly tripled last week, but has slowed in recent days. (Graph by Voro.com. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
New Jersey’s losses in the COVID-19 pandemic rose again Sunday, when the monthlong death toll surpassed 1,000, Governor Phil Murphy reported Monday.
He and a top law enforcement official also blasted attendees of a Rumson lawn concert held Saturday for alleged “vile” comments directed at police.
Fair Haven’s March 23 council meeting, conducted via Zoom from the office of Forefront Incorporated, drew 68 attendees. (YouTube screen grab. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Thanks to a videocamera placed on a conference room table, Fair Haven residents got a close-up view of Mayor Ben Lucarelli’s beard when the town’s governing body held its first-ever online-only public session two weeks ago.
Now, thanks to the limits on public gatherings in the COVID-19 pandemic, Red Bank is also about to enter the fuzzy world of public sessions at which no members of the public are present.
By JOHN T. WARD
Governor Phil Murphy’s administration reported 71 new deaths of New Jersey residents in the COVID-19 pandemic Sunday, a sharp drop from the 200 reported a day earlier.
The death toll also continued to ease in Monmouth County, the state reported.
Mask-wearers lined up for free meals at Lunch Break in Red Bank Friday. Murphy singled out Lunch Break for praise in the crisis. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Governor Phil Murphy paused for a moment of silence Saturday after announcing another 200 New Jersey deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Surgical masks and improvised face coverings were a common sight Friday, as here on Prospect Avenue in Little Silver. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
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By JOHN T. WARD
Flags across New Jersey were ordered lowered “immediately and indefinitely” as the carnage of COVID-19 claimed another 113 state residents, Governor Phil Murphy said Friday.
The symbolic gesture will serve as a “constant memorial” during “one of the greatest tragedies” in the state’s history, Murphy said at his daily briefing on the crisis.
A socially-distanced boat heads out onto our beautiful Navesink River off Red Bank Thursday. (Click to enlarge.)
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By JOHN T. WARD
New Jersey added 182 more deaths to the COVID-19 toll as the number of state residents known to be infected blew past 25,000, Governor Phil Murphy said Thursday.
A new month begins with a lovely sunrise over our beautiful Navesink River, as seen from the Route 35 bridge Wednesday morning. (Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
With COVID-19-related death and infection rates rising faster than ever, “we’re beginning to feel the real strain on the critical care” segment of the healthcare system in the northern part of New Jersey, state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said Wednesday.
A hospital use projection for New Jersey by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation shows an anticipated surge in the first half of April. Projections assume continued social distancing and other protective measures. To view the methods used to produce the projection, click here. (Graphic by IHME. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Sixty-nine New Jerseyans died Monday as the global COVID-19 contagion continued its tear through the state, Governor Phil Murphy said Tuesday.
Of 267 resident deaths so far in the crisis, 223 have occurred in the last seven days, with the toll accelerating sharply from Monday’s report of 37 deaths.
Charts used by the Murphy administration Monday show the surge in cases with no social distancing, left, and partial compliance, right. (Graphs by NJ.gov. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
New Jersey’s daily death toll and COVID-19 caseload had soared since Sunday, Governor Phil Murphy reported Monday.
With 37 more fatalities and 3,347 more patients testing positive for the coronavirus, Murphy continued to hammer home his message that residents need to “stay home” until the crisis eases.
By JOHN T. WARD
After a weeklong climb, New Jersey’s daily death toll from the COVID-19 virus eased Saturday, Governor Phil Murphy’s administration reported Sunday.
At the same time, more than 2,300 state residents tested positive for the virus. Read More
Normally bustling, downtown Red Bank was people-free and quiet at 9 p.m. Friday under the governor’s week-old “stay-home” order. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Thirty-two more New Jersey residents died as the the COVID-19 contagion tightened its grip on the state, Governor Phil Murphy said Saturday.
With the state’s death toll now at 140, the pandemic “is a pass/fail test,” Murphy said at his daily pandemic briefing on the crisis. “This is life or death.”
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By JOHN T. WARD
New Jersey’s death toll the in the COVID-19 pandemic crossed into the triple digits as families lost 27 more loved ones, Governor Phil Murphy said in his daily briefing Friday.
Red Bank’s schools have been closed since March 16. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Are Red Bank’s schools going to reopen April 20?
A district posting Thursday afternoon appeared to suggest they might, just an hour or so after Governor Phil Murphy threw cold water on talk that an end to his indefinite school shutdown order might be in sight.
With blood supplies running low because of the pandemic’s impact on regular drives, about 50 people made appointments for well-spaced donations at Red Bank’s YMCA Thursday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
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By JOHN T. WARD
COVID-19 continued to ravage New Jersey, with 19 more deaths from the global pandemic reported Thursday.
The number of state residents who have tested positive for the coronavirus soared to 6,876, an increase of 2,492 from Wednesday, Governor Phil Murphy said in his daily briefing.
Flowers in bloom alongside a nearly vehicle-free Harding Road in Fair Haven Wednesday morning. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The COVID-19 pandemic toll continue to rise, as Governor Phil Murphy announced 18 new deaths in New Jersey Wednesday.
Joggers crossing the relatively quiet Route 35 Cooper’s Bridge between Red Bank and Middletown Tuesday evening. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Contrary to an anti-COVID-19 directive by Governor Phil Murphy, Monmouth County officials said Wednesday that they are “starting to see” signs of non-residents relocating to vacation homes.
They also issued an appeal for medical supplies to help protect front-line testers and healthcare providers.
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By JOHN T. WARD
With the deaths of 17 more New Jersey residents over 24 hours, Governor Phil Murphy “can now give you 44 reasons” in support of unprecedented and wide-ranging restrictions he’s imposed in the face of the COVID-19 crisis, he said Tuesday.
That was the highest single-day statewide tally of fatalities in the global coronavirus pandemic, he said.
The Fair Haven post office now has a plastic barrier to minimize contact between customers and employees. (Reader photo. Click to enlarge.)
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By JOHN T. WARD
Seven more New Jersey deaths were recorded as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continued to grow, state officials said Monday.
Two days after issuing an unprecdented executive order aimed at slowing the spread of the pandemic, Governor Phil Murphy said he was also barring all elective surgeries and invasive procedures, both medical and dental.
The state Attorney General also announced new actions to free some county jail inmates and prosecute alleged violators of Murphy’s virus-prompted orders.
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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By JOHN T. WARD
One day after Governor Phil Murphy issued a wide-raging executive order requiring all New Jersey residents to “stay at home,” his administration reported Sunday that the known number of statewide COVID-19 patients rose by 590, to 1,914.
Four new deaths from the coronavirus within the Garden State were also reported.
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By JOHN T. WARD
With the number of COVID-19 cases continuing to climb, Governor Phil Murphy on Saturday ordered all New Jersey residents to “stay at home.”
He also asked those who might be looking to the shore area as a refuge not to head there.
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank has its first resident COVID-19 case, the borough government reported late Friday.
Phil Murphy in Red Bank in 2017 during his run for governor. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
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By JOHN T. WARD
With the number of COVID-19 cases continuing to climb, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced a plan to open drive-thru test site in Holmdel Monday.
Speaking at Bergen County Community College following the opening of the state’s first drive-thru test center on Friday, Murphy said the state’s caseload rose by 155 from Thursday, to 890, with two additional deaths.