5 NEW COVID-19 POSITIVE CASES COMMUNITY-WIDE REPORTED IN MONROE TOWNSHIP OVER THREE-DAY PERIOD: 2 ON FRIDAY, 1 ON SATURDAY, 2 ON SUNDAY

15 ADDITIONAL CASES IN LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES OVER THREE_DAY PERIOD:  5 ON FRIDAY, 9 ON SATURDAY, 1 ON SUNDAY*

* The NJDOH required all long-term care facilities, residents and staff, to be tested week of May 25.

** 6 new deaths include 4 community-wide and 2 in long-term care facilities.

 COVID-19 Cases received Friday, May 29:  New positive cases 7:

COVID-19 Cases received Saturday, May 30:  New positive case 10:

COVID-19 Cases received Sunday, May 31:  New positive cases 3:

OUTDOOR DINING, STORES TO REOPEN ON JUNE 15; PERSONAL CARE SERVICES TO REOPEN ON JUNE 22.  GYMS NEXT - NO DATE SET: Governor Murphy announced today that outdoor dining and non-essential retail stores in New Jersey will reopen, with restrictions, on June 15, followed by salons as the state enters “Stage 2” of its recovery.  The reopening for personal care services, such as hair salons and barbershops, is planned for June 22. Gyms would come after that, though no date has been set. Motor vehicle services are part of the second phase, but no timetable announced.  Read the full NJ.com article here.  

STATE AND NJDOH STATISTICS:  

• NJ hospitals currently have 2,344 patients being treated for COVID-19; Field Medical Stations reported 21 patients.
• 36 new hospitalizations and 160 patients were discharged from the hospital yesterday.
• 646 patients in either critical or intensive care; 469 ventilators currently in use – under 500 for the third straight day; down roughly 350 from two weeks ago.
• The daily positivity rate for tests from May 28 was 3.5 percent.
• “At our long-term care facilities, we know we’re not nearly done fighting against this virus.We continue to have the teams on the ground to help us,” said Governor Murphy.“The numbers of lab-confirmed deaths associated with our long-term care facilities remains far below where we saw at the peak.”   
• 31 cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children - no deaths reported.
• Ages of children affected range from 1-18.21 of the 31 have tested positive for COVID-19.6 are currently hospitalized.  

MESSAGE FROM GOVERNOR MURPHY:  “As we open, we know there is a greater chance for transmission of COVID-19.  There is no cure. There is no vaccine. There is no proven therapeutic.  The only cure is responsibility. 

Safety will continue to be our number one priority. When each of us is responsible, all of us do better.  We want our economy back up and running.  But, we will not do that at the cost of a reckless disregard for their health and safety.  

I thank every health care professional, every first responder, and every frontline worker for their heroic and astounding performance under unimaginable pressure.  We now have the ability to conduct at least 20,000 tests per day.  With our increased testing has come an increased focus on contact tracing. We’re ready to move to Stage 2 of our restart and recovery – starting Monday, June 15th.    

We cannot move forward blind to the reality around us.  We’re ready because our metrics keep trending in the right way.  We’re ready because we’re exceeding our testing goals.  We’re ready because our positivity rate keeps falling.  We’re ready because the data says so.”

MONROE TOWNSHIP POLICE OFFICERS AND FIREFIGHTERS TO THE RESCUE:  

After receiving a call regarding a clutch of baby ducks stuck in a storm sewer near the entrance to The Ponds by Ms. Hilary Dambach who was in town visiting her mother, Monroe Township Police Officers and Fire Fighters worked together to save 6 fledgling ducks from imminent doom.  Many thanks to Ms. Dambach for making the call.  Well done, MTPD and MTFD!