From Maplewood Mayor Frank McGehee on April 22, 2020:
Good evening,
Unfortunately, we have lost 2 more members of our community due to the COVID-19 coronavirus. Yesterday A 50-year old male and today a 63-year old female. On behalf of our Maplewood Township Committee, please join my colleagues and me in praying for the families at this time. [Editor’s Note: The Township announced total diagnosed cases at 215 and 15 deaths as of April 21, 2020.]
Between yesterday and today, the Maplewood Public Health Division had a total of 12 more cases bringing our total COVID-19 coronavirus cases to 219 including the 2 tragic losses mentioned above and our 14 previously reported deaths. The new cases range from 28 to 86 years of age.
We have 72 fully recovered cases and a 49% positive test rate, 219 out of 444 tests.
As of today, the NJ Department of Health has reported 95,865 confirmed cases in the state of New Jersey which includes 11,387 in Essex County.
If you are interested in state aggregate data regarding hospitalization, age, gender, and race, please go to https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/
Please, if you have received a positive confirmed diagnosis from your healthcare provider but have not heard from our Public Health Division in 24 hours, call the Public Health Division at (973) 762-8120.
The Public Health Division continues to investigate and works to obtain the recent contact history for all cases, including contacting anyone who has potentially been exposed.
COVID-19 resources:
Maplewood COVID-19 website: https://www.twp.maplewood.nj.
General COVID-19 Questions: 2-1-1 (24/7)
Medical COVID-19 Questions: 1-800-962-1253 (24/7)
Text NJCOVID to 898-211 to receive alerts
Test sites:
Monday, Wednesday, Saturday: 8am to 4pm PNC Bank Arts Center – 116 Garden State Pkwy, Holmdel, NJ 07733
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday: 8am to 4pm Bergen Community College – 400 Paramus Road, Paramus Campus – Lots B & C, Paramus, NJ 07652
When you arrive, you will need to provide proof of residency in New Jersey (Picture ID)
Criteria is: NJ resident and experiencing signs of respiratory illness. Priority will be given to symptomatic individuals experiencing cough, fever (99.6 or above) and shortness of breath.
First Come, First serve.
Our Town Government is working for you
Our Fire Department has been on a total of 100 related COVID-19 calls, they are here for us. Our Engineering & Public Works Department continues to operate and provide maintenance of Township parks and public facilities. They are also performing additional deep cleanings of our buildings. Each of our departments continue to provide services to residents while adhering to CDC guidelines.
In addition, each department is developing operational plans for when public buildings open to ensure the safety of our residents and employees in accordance with state guidelines for reopening the state. Throughout this pandemic, we have been working closely with the county and state.
Stimulus Package
Today, the Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan package to provide $484 billion in additional federal support for small businesses, frontline hospitals and to expand COVID-19 testing.
Small Business Provisions
The legislation provides an additional $310 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), up from $349 billion included in the CARES Act to a total of $659 billion. Of this additional $310 billion, $60 billion is set aside for smaller and community-oriented lenders to make PPP loans.
· $30 billion for loans made by smaller lenders with between $10 billion – $50 billion in assets;
· $30 billion for loans made by CDFIs, Small Insured Depository Institutions, and credit unions with assets less than $10 billion
Additionally, the bill provides $50 billion more in Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and $10 billion more in EIDL grants.
Health Provisions
The legislation provides $100 billion to shore up our health care system’s fight against COVID-19, including:
- $75 billion for health care providers for expenses and lost revenues related to COVID-19.
- $25 billion to expand testing capacity, including money to develop, produce, purchase, and administer testing capacity, including for tests that can determine prior exposure.
- Of that, $11 billion will go to states, localities, territories, and tribes.
- $2 billion of that will be distributed by the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program formula; and
- $4.25 billion will be distributed based on the relative number of COVID-19 cases.
- $1 billion to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for surveillance, lab capacity expansion, and workforce;
- $1.8 billion to NIH to develop rapid testing;
- $1 billion to BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority) for COVID-19 tests and supplies;
- $825 million to Community Health Centers; and
- $1 billion to cover testing for uninsured.
- Of that, $11 billion will go to states, localities, territories, and tribes.
Please keep our streets clean and healthy
We have received several correspondences regarding increasing litter on curb corners and in and near our waterways. Please be mindful of how you dispose of your (latex) gloves. They should not be tossed in the street, sidewalks or our parks; nor should they be discarded in recycling bins. Please dispose of them in the trash. Dog walkers please always curb your dog. Thank you.
Mayor Frank
