For
Immediate Release:
September 24, 2020
Freeholders
provide COVID-19, Elections, CARES Act funding updates
FREEHOLD, NJ – The
Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders provided updates on COVID-19, Elections
and CARES Act funding at a press conference held today.
“I know
that there has been a lot of talk about the recent uptick in COVID cases in
Monmouth County and I would like to shed some light on these cases and the
reasons they are occurring,” said Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone. “The
Monmouth County Health Department’s (MCHD) case investigations have determined
the bulk of exposures are from youth athletic facilities, school sports
practices and gatherings that occurred during Labor Day Weekend and almost half
of the new cases are young adults between the ages of 16 and 25.”
“It is
also important to note that MCHD has conducted a thorough review all the
COVID-19 cases in the 29 towns they serve and no cases have been linked to
restaurants or retail food establishments at this time,” added Freeholder
Director Arnone.
Freeholder Deputy Director Susan
M. Kiley offered updates about the Monmouth County COVID-19 Testing Program at
locations in Asbury Park, Freehold Borough, Keansburg, Long Branch, Neptune and Red Bank.
“The
County has administered 2,749 tests to date, 57 of those tests have come back
positive,” said Freeholder Deputy Director Susan M. Kiley. “These low
positivity percentages can be attributed to wearing masks, practicing social
distancing and getting tested for the virus.”
The testing site locations, dates and hours
of operation are posted on the County’s website at www.visitmonmouth.com.
Freeholder Director Arnone spoke about the
upcoming General Election and what the County is doing in preparation.
“I want you to know that Monmouth County is
doing everything in our power to make this process as efficient, accessible and
secure as possible,” said Freeholder Director Arnone. “In an effort to assist
with the counting of ballots from the nearly 500,000 registered votes in
Monmouth County, we have purchased four additional ballot scanners and the most
robust and secure suite of integrated voting software solutions on the market,
investing more than $230,000.
Dominion Voting Systems’ software will
automatically and digitally route ballots for adjudication. This feature is a
first in the industry and eliminates the manual duplicating of ballots. This
also protects the ballot chain of custody and limits the handling of voter
marked ballots.
“Monmouth County has also hired 60
individuals to assist the Board of Elections with opening the ballots and
placing them in the scanners,” said Freeholder Director Arnone.
Freeholder Director Arnone reminded
residents that 17 mail-in ballot drop boxes placed throughout the County. For
location information, or if you have any questions about how to Vote By Mail or
the Election, go to MonmouthCountyVotes.com.
Freeholder Director Arnone also provided an
update on the distribution of grant dollars through the Monmouth County CARES
Economic Assistance Grant program and its use for the Monmouth County
Vocational School District (MCVSD).
“To date, we have received more than 2,200
applications and handled more than 3,400 phone calls regarding the program. We
have approved more than $13.5 million in grant dollars, which goes directly
into the pockets of small business owners,” said Freeholder Director Arnone.
“We still have nearly $6.5 million available, so please submit your application
to www.MonmouthCountyCares.com.
All you need is your tax return to get
started.”
The County has also allocated $308,000 of
CARES Act funding to help MCVSD enter into a contract with BAYADA, a home
health care agency, to bring in school nurses into the vocational school
district.
“As of today, in speaking with the
administration at the Vocational School District, it is anticipated that
schools will open on Monday, October 5 with a hybrid in-person model,” said
Freeholder Director Arnone. “The District is working diligently to resolve any
remaining staffing concerns in order to open all schools and is currently
accepting applications for possible vacancies throughout the District in a
variety of subjects.”
All position and instructions on how to
apply are posted at www.MCVSD.org or www.njschoolsjobs.comm. Individuals
with 60 college credits requires for substitutes are encouraged to apply.
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