RED BANK: BACK IN BUSINESS, OUT FRONT

Reopening after almost three months to the day after they were ordered shut down in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Red Bank restaurants drew numerous diners to their outdoor tables Monday night.

“It’s like normal – almost,” said Charlie Lyristis, co-owner of Bistro, on Broad Street, above. At right: a note left at tables for customers of Pazzo, on West Front Street.

See additional photos as restaurants resumed with sit-down, outdoor-only service under order of Governor Phil Murphy below.

June 16, 2020 - 7:50 am | Comments ()

ON THE GREEN: RESTAURANTS REOPEN

After a nearly three-month shutdown except for takeout, restaurants on the Greater Red Bank Green began reopening as sit-down, outdoor-only eateries Monday.

Even with the weather a bit on the cool side, “it’s nice to get of the hospital,” said a Riverview Medical Center employee sharing lunch with colleagues at Robinson Ale House in Red Bank, above. Read More »

June 15, 2020 - 12:40 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: RESTAURANTS HUSTLE TO REOPEN

Danny Murphy, owner of Danny’s Steakhouse, with the safety guide he prepared for his employees. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03 Their industry battered over the past three months by the COVID-19 pandemic, Red Bank’s restaurateurs are now scrambling for a toehold on recovery.

With partial reopenings slated to begin Monday, they’re training staff in a host of new hygiene procedures. At the same time, some are also racing to shift operations into two new shopping and dining plazas being created downtown.

June 12, 2020 - 3:30 pm | Comments ()

VIRUS UPDATE: STATE’S DEATH TOLL AT 12,049

The trajectory of new cases has shown gradual flattening in Monmouth County. (Monmouth County data. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03 With new COVID-19 illness totals showing continued abatement, New Jersey passed another grim milestone as the number of deaths in the pandemic topped 12,000, Governor Phil Murphy said Friday.

At the same time, Murphy lauded state residents for working to “beat the crap out of this virus,” with key indicators down 70 percent or more from peak spread as the state nears “stage two” of an economic reopening.

June 5, 2020 - 3:00 pm | Comments ()

LITTLE SILVER: RBR CEREMONY STAYS ONLINE

An in-person commencement ceremony “remains impractical,” says Superintendent Lou Moore . (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03 Though in-person graduation ceremonies can resume starting July 6 under New Jersey guidelines, Red Bank Regional High won’t be holding one anytime soon.

June 2, 2020 - 9:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: HOTEL PLANS PHASED REOPENING

The Oyster Point will reopen Monday, while its sibling, the Molly Pitcher Inn, will remain closed. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03 Easing back to life from its COVID-19 lockdown, Red Bank’s Oyster Point Hotel plans to launch a phased reopening Monday.

But amid uncertainty over wedding and business-event bookings, the hotel and its sibling Molly Pitcher Inn now have to “reinvent” themselves, company vice president Kevin Barry told redbankgreen Friday.

June 1, 2020 - 6:00 am | Comments ()

VIRUS UPDATE: RED BANK CASES LEVELING

Governor Phil Murphy at his daily crisis briefing in Trenton Friday. (Pool photo by Thomas Costello for Gannett. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03 For the second day in a row, Red Bank has seen no growth in the number of residents testing positive for COVID-19, Monmouth County officials reported Friday.

At the same time, a longterm care facility that has accounted for most of the borough’s deaths saw one more, the New Jersey Health Department reported.

May 29, 2020 - 4:48 pm | Comments ()

VIRUS UPDATE: COUNTY SEES 97 NEW CASES

Since early May, the Monmouth County’s COVID-19 case growth has largely stayed below 100 per day. (Monmouth County data. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03 Monmouth County’s government reported 97 new confirmed COVID-19 cases among county residents Thursday, as other data also showed the pandemic continuing a monthlong weakening.

May 28, 2020 - 3:25 pm | Comments ()

VIRUS UPDATE: GUV SIGNALS FURTHER EASING

Murphy said the rolling three-day average of new COVID-19 cases continues to decline. (New Jersey Department of Health graphic. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03 Governor Phil Murphy signaled loosening of COVID-19 restrictions on sporting events and indoor religious services Wednesday.

Separately, Monmouth County reported the number of county residents with confirmed cases of the illness has now surpassed 8,000.

May 27, 2020 - 4:37 pm | Comments ()

VIRUS UPDATE: GRADUATIONS TO RESUME

Outdoor commencement ceremonies, like this Red Bank Charter School graduation in 2016, will be permitted, Murphy said. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

[See UPDATES below]

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03 Graduation ceremonies can resume starting July 6, Governor Phil Murphy announced in another easing of COVID-19 restrictions Tuesday.

The change follows a three-day weekend in which key measures of the pandemic showed continued improvement over the Memorial Day weekend.

May 26, 2020 - 12:45 pm | Comments ()

VIRUS UPDATE: FACILITY CASELOAD UP BY 11

The Hackensack Meridian Health facility in Red Bank, seen here from Bank Street in 2019, has experienced 83 COVID-19 cases among residents and staff members, the state reported. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03 COVID-19’s toll on one longterm care facility in Red Bank continued with 11 new infections reported Friday, bringing the total to 83 so far in the pandemic.

May 22, 2020 - 1:00 pm | Comments ()

VIRUS UPDATE: RED BANK CASE TOTAL RISES

Red Bank’s confirmed case total continues to rise while Fair Haven’s and Little Silver’s have remained relatively stable. (Monmouth County data. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03 Red Bank saw a spike in confirmed COVID-19 cases in data reported by Monmouth County officials Thursday.

The borough’s case total in the pandemic now stands at 194, an increase of 13 from Wednesday, the county freeholders reported.

May 21, 2020 - 6:16 pm | Comments ()

VIRUS UPDATE: CRISIS MEASURES CUT BY HALF

Governor Phil Murphy discussing hospital-related data Wednesday. (YouTube screengrab. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03 Key measures of the COVID-19 pandemic have fallen to half their peak levels, but New Jersey residents are still being hospitalized in large numbers, Governor Phil Murphy said Wednesday.

May 20, 2020 - 5:30 pm | Comments ()

VIRUS UPDATE: NO CLARITY ON GRADUATIONS

Fair Haven’s municipal dock is open for taking in the vista along the Navesink River, but remains off-limits for fishing and crabbing. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03 Governor Phil Murphy is still trying to “figure out” how to hold safe graduation ceremonies under the lingering threat of a resurgent COVID-19 pandemic, he said Tuesday.

May 19, 2020 - 3:04 pm | Comments ()

VIRUS UPDATE: MURPHY EYES ‘NEW NORMAL’

Statewide data shows sustained improvement by key measures in recent weeks, Murphy said. (New Jersey Department of Health data. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03 Governor Phil Murphy laid out a staged approach to getting the Garden State to a “new normal” way of life following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The plan, announced Monday at his daily briefing on the crisis, came as he also eased restrictions on outdoor activities such as community gardening and batting cages.

May 18, 2020 - 3:51 pm | Comments ()

VIRUS UPDATE: MONMOUTH DEATHS TOP 500

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03 More than 500 Monmouth County residents have now died in the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Phil Murphy’s administration reported Sunday.

Three-hundred-seventy-two, or 73 percent, of the county’s 508 victims were residents or staff members at longterm care facilities, according to the New Jersey Health Department’s COVID-19 dashboard.

May 18, 2020 - 7:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: 16 COVID-19 DEATHS REPORTED

The Hackensack Meridian Health longterm care facility on Chapin Avenue (seen here in 2011) has been associated with 12 resident or staff deaths, the state reported Friday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank’s death toll in the COVID-19 pandemic stands at 16, the borough reported government reported Friday.

All appear to have occurred at the borough’s two congregate living facilities, based on separate data sources.

May 15, 2020 - 5:15 pm | Comments ()

VIRUS UPDATE: DEATH TOLL PASSES 10,000

Nearly 80 percent of the state’s COVID-19’s victims have been 65 or older. (Source: COVID19.nj.gov. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03 As New Jersey’s death toll from COVID-19 crossed the 10,000 mark, Governor Phil Murphy said other indicators of the weakening pandemic made it safe for physicians to resume elective surgery.

May 15, 2020 - 2:50 pm | Comments ()

VIRUS UPDATE: BEACHES TO REOPEN, PARTLY

“There will be swimming,” but beach capacity may be restricted by oceanfront towns, Murphy said. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03 Jersey shore beaches will be back in business for Memorial Day, if not quite full-tilt, Governor Phil Murphy said Thursday.

With COVID-19 fatalities, cases and hospitalizations on the wane statewide, New Jersey is ready to take “a big step… and do it in a way to protect the public health,” Murphy said at his daily press briefing on the pandemic.

May 14, 2020 - 3:20 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: SAFE REOPENING TIPS FOR STORES

Non-essential retail business can resume, but customers won’t be allowed into shops under Murphy’s latest order. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

With non-essential retail operations permitted to partially re-open Monday, Red Bank officials plan to host a Zoom session for merchants “to clarify the evolving guidelines and restrictions” in the COVID-19 pandemic, the borough announced Wednesday night.

May 14, 2020 - 7:15 am | Comments ()

VIRUS UPDATE: LIMITS EASED ON RETAIL

Retailers may see some the return of activity with curbside pickup of orders allowed starting Monday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

[See UPDATE below]

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03 Citing continued gains in the fight against COVID-19, Governor Phil Murphy loosened his clampdown on retail business and construction Wednesday.

Separately, his administration reported 18 cases of a “serious” and possibly related illness in children and teens, a cohort that has been relatively spared in the two-month-old crisis.

May 13, 2020 - 3:30 pm | Comments ()

VIRUS UPDATE: MORE TESTS, TRACING SLATED

A helpful reminder painted on a stone seen outside the CVS pharmacy in Little Silver Monday. (Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03 Governor Phil Murphy unveiled plans to broaden testing and tracing for COVID-19 Tuesday.

The paired approaches, he said, offer New Jersey its “best chance at catching and containing” the illness, which has now claimed more than 9,500 lives, including 15 more in Monmouth County.

May 12, 2020 - 4:30 pm | Comments ()

VIRUS UPDATE: O’SCANLON, MURPHY JOUST

State Senator Declan O’Scanlon at an event in Little Silver with Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso and Senator Vin Gopal in early 2018.(Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03 With COVID-19 fatalities and cases dropping, Governor Phil Murphy dismissed a call for “rebellion” against his continued near-lockdown of New Jersey’s economic activity Monday.

Meantime, 13th-district state Senator Declan O’Scanlon of Little Silver said his Saturday-night tweet calling on the public to “defy” Murphy’s “stay-home” and other restrictions said he was being “mostly tongue-in-cheek” with the exhortation.

May 11, 2020 - 5:20 pm | Comments ()

VIRUS UPDATE: RED BANK CASES STILL RISING

Red Bank’s cumulative COVID-19 case total has continued to increase while Fair Haven’s and Little Silver’s have remained relatively flat for weeks. (Source: Monmouth County Freeholders. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

New COVID-19 deaths and cases continued a recent slowing trend in New Jersey over the weekend, Governor Phil Murphy’s administration reported Sunday.

At the same time, thousands of new infections were recorded, with Red Bank’s total remaining on stubborn incline.

May 11, 2020 - 7:45 am | Comments ()

VIRUS UPDATE: CHILD’S DEATH REPORTED

By JOHN T. WARD

A four-year-old New Jersey child became the first state resident under the age of 18 to die from COVID-19, Governor Phil Murphy said at his daily crisis briefing Friday.

May 8, 2020 - 6:45 pm | Comments ()

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