Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update 6/26/2020

Water Conservation Notice from the Borough of Oakland:

The Borough of Oakland’s Water System has been experiencing excessive consumption in the last several days due to high weather temperature coupled with the lack of rainfall in our area. This is causing a slow but steady decline in the water levels of our storage tanks throughout our Borough.

At this time we are asking residents to voluntarily limit lawn watering to an odd or even day watering schedule that coincides with the house number of their street address. Doing so may help avoid Borough wide mandatory water use restrictions moving forward.

Revised Metal Collection:

Town-wide metal collection has been moved to July 9, 2020, due to the July 4^th Holiday.

Murphy Administration Announces Reopening Guidance for New Jersey Schools:

Governor Phil Murphy and Department of Education Commissioner Lamont O. Repollet today announced the release of “The Road Back: Restart and Recovery Plan for Education” to assist schools with reopening in the fall. The guidance announces that, absent a change in public health data, public schools will open for in-person instruction and operations in some capacity at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year.

The guidance envisions schools operating within necessary standards to protect the health and safety of students and staff. The guidance includes minimum standards such as following certain social distancing practices in classrooms and face covering measures for students and staff. The guidance also provides recommendations to assist districts in achieving these standards, such as implementing hybrid learning environments in which students receive both in-person and remote instruction. 

Each district will be expected to develop, in collaboration with community stakeholders, a plan to reopen schools in the fall that best fits the district’s local needs. The guidance provides anticipated minimum standards regarding health and safety that districts should use as they plan for reopening. The guidance also provides additional considerations that may help districts as they develop their plans.

The guidance describes several health and safety standards to be prioritized in school reopening:  

• Social distancing: Schools and districts must allow for social distancing within the classroom. This can be achieved by ensuring students are seated at least six feet apart. If schools are not able to maintain this physical distance, additional modifications should be considered. These include physical barriers between desks and turning desks to face the same direction (rather than facing each other) or having students sit on only one side of a table and spaced apart.
• Face coverings: School staff and visitors are required to wear face coverings unless doing so would inhibit the individual’s health or the individual is under two years of age. Students are strongly encouraged to wear face coverings and are required to do so when social distancing cannot be maintained, unless doing so would inhibit the student’s health. It is necessary to acknowledge that enforcing the use of face coverings may be impractical for young children or certain individuals with disabilities.
• Limited capacity: It is recommended that students and staff be seated at least six feet apart in class when practicable. When weather allows, windows should be opened to allow for greater air circulation.
• Cleaning/disinfecting: Procedures must be implemented by each school district for the sanitization of school buildings and school buses. Increased handwashing measures are also important for students and staff.

These provisions are informed by Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines, which call for protecting staff and students who are at higher risk for severe illness, such as providing options for telework and virtual learning; providing reasonable accommodations for older adults (65 years and older) and individuals with serious underlying medical conditions; and, when possible, keeping early childhood students apart during naptime and avoiding close-group activities like reading circles.

Other provisions in the guidance include: 

• Cafeteria directors should consider staggering meal times to allow for social distancing; discontinuing self-serve or buffet lines; having students eat meals outside or in their classrooms; and requiring staff to disinfect eating areas between groups.
• Recess should also be held in staggered shifts, with efforts to promote social distancing and hygiene protocols.
• Cohorting: Schools may wish to identify small groups of students and keep them together (cohorting) to ensure that student and staff groupings are as static as possible, thereby limiting exposure to large groups of students.
• School bus operators should encourage social distancing. CDC guidelines recommend seating on a school bus such that there is one student seated per row, skipping a row between each child, if possible. Barriers separating rows of bus seats may also be considered. If social distancing is not feasible, face coverings must be worn by students who are able to do so. Increased ventilation (i.e. opening windows) is also recommended in the guidelines. 

Because reopening is dependent upon health data and informed by experts in the health field, districts will need to be prepared to pivot to remote instruction at any time during the 2020-2021 school year. The guidance stresses that each school district should be working to ensure every student has a device and internet connectivity available, and it identifies funding streams available to school districts to ensure students have access to technology.

Districts should strive to share preliminary scheduling plans with staff, families, and students at least four weeks before the start of the school year in order to allow families to plan child care and work arrangements.

Click here for a summary of the guidance.

Click here for the full guidance.

Bergen County Ballot Drop Boxes Available:

Ballot Drop Boxes can be found outside in the following locations:

• Demarest - 118 Serpentine Road, Demarest, NJ (Borough Hall)
• Fort Lee - 1355 Inwood Terrace/Anderson Avenue Circular Driveway (Fort Lee Community Center)
• Hackensack - One Bergen County Plaza, Hackensack, NJ (County Administration Building)
• Ramsey - 30 Wyckoff Avenue (Library - in rear of building)
• Ridgewood - 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ (Village Hall)
• Rutherford - 176 Park Avenue, Rutherford (Borough Hall)

Ballot Drop Boxes are available 24-hours.  Ballots must be in the Drop Box by 8:00 p.m. on election night.  Ballots left after 8:00 p.m. on election night will be considered late and not counted.

Upcoming Bergen County Mobile Testing Schedule:

Below is an updated schedule of Mobile COVID-19 Testing hosted by the County of Bergen. Arrive between 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. for testing, and 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. for first responders. All mobile testing sites are weather permitting. You must bring identification and proof of Bergen county residence or proof of Bergen county municipal employment/county employment. Copy of driver’s license is required and/or utility bill. Please bring insurance card if applicable. This is a saliva based test, therefore, please do not eat/drink/smoke 30 minutes prior to arriving.

• Monday 6/29 – Old Tappan, Norwood, Northvale, Harrington Park, and Rockleigh (150 Central Avenue – Old Tappan – Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan)
• Tuesday 6/30 – Fair Lawn (Location TBD)
• Wednesday 7/1 – Ramsey and Allendale (Location TBD)
• Thursday 7/2 – Rochelle Park (300 Rochelle Avenue – Midland School Parking Lot)

$1,200 Stimulus Check: Make Sure You Get It:

If you don’t make enough income to have to file taxes, you may miss out on the federal STIMULUS check, also known as the Economic Impact Payment.

Here’s how to get yours:

• Go to the IRS web page www.irs.gov/coronavirus/non-filers-enter-payment-info-here
• Select the blue “Enter Your Information” button and input your information.

To receive the payments, individuals must provide their information to the IRS and apply for the

payment no later than October 15, 2020.

Who is Eligible?

All U.S. citizens, permanent residents and qualifying resident aliens who:

• Have a valid Social Security number,
• Could not be claimed as a dependent of another taxpayer, and
• Had adjusted gross income under certain limits.

How to Apply:

Use the IRS Non-Filers Tool www.irs.gov/coronavirus/non-filers-enter-payment-info-here to check your eligibility and file for this payment.

Use this tool if you are not required to file a federal income tax return for 2019 for any reason including:

• Your income is less than $12,200
• You’re married filing jointly and together your income is less than $24,400
• You have no income

For further help/questions, visit www.njhelps.org.

Upcoming Board, Committee, Commission Meetings:

Meeting Links and Passwords for upcoming Board, Committee, and Commission Meetings are posted here. 

• Recreation Commission 6/29 at 8:00 p.m.

Coronavirus Positive Tests in Oakland:

Today the Borough of Oakland was notified by the Bergen County Health Department that there are a total of 239 individuals in Oakland who tested positive for the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Bergen County has a total of 19,082 positive Coronavirus Cases, and the State of NJ has 170,584 positive cases.

If anyone has questions about COVID-19, you can call the 24-hour New Jersey Hotline at (800) 222-1222. You can also visit the State of NJ Coronavirus Website Here.

Important Resources:

• The latest data on coronavirus infections in New Jersey are available on the New Jersey COVID-19 Dashboard. The dashboard has been updated to provide more information on scope of the virus and hospitalizations, including the number of patients hospitalized, discharged, in critical care, in intensive care, and on ventilators, along with data on statewide ventilator capacity, numbers of positive/negative tests, and more.
• New Jersey’s COVID-19 Information Hub includes valuable resources and information for families, workers, and employers who have questions or needs arising from the current crisis.
• Testing Sites: To locate a testing location, specifics on how to get a test, and the hours of operation, click here.
• Information for businesses impacted by COVID-19.