Residents,
Please read this post in its entirety.
Today, the Governor announced further Covid-19 related restrictions. The Executive Orders have not yet been received; however, I wanted to relay the information to everyone in anticipation of new restrictions.
Beginning Thursday, November 12, 2020, indoor dining, bars, clubs and lounges must cease all food and beverage service at 10:00pm. Outdoor dining, take-out and delivery may continue past 10:00pm. Furthermore, all bar seating will be prohibited as of November 12th, and restaurants may increase the number of indoor tables previously allocated to bar seating by moving tables closer than 6 feet with appropriate barriers. Individual group outdoor heated dining tents will be authorized with sterilization requirements between each use. Food and beverage service inside Casinos will also be prohibited after 10:00pm; however, their gaming tables may continue to operate beyond 10:00pm.
The NJ Department of Health will be releasing guidelines for these changes in the near future. Once they are released, we will update everyone with the information.
The Governor also announced all interstate indoor youth sports will be prohibited from holding indoor competitions for the time being. This prohibition will pertain to youth sports through High School sporting contests. My interpretation of what the Governor stated was this prohibition only applies to competitions taking place indoors with teams from other states. Therefore, I believe indoor sporting competitions will be allowed for all in state teams to participate in. Once the Executive Order is released and the NJ Department of Health updates Youth Sports Guidelines, we will provide the information to all.
It was announced today that Pfizer has created a Covid-19 vaccine with 90% success rate. The vaccine has not completed the trial phase and has not been authorized for expedited use by the Food and Drug Administration. It is anticipated that the vaccine will receive the expedited authorization, however, in consultation with the Health Department it has been learned the vaccine will not be available to the general population if it is approved until mid-2021. There is significant infrastructure that needs to be in place in order for the mass dissemination of the vaccine, to include freezers capable of maintaining -70 Degrees Fahrenheit, as well as a work force capable of dispensing and documenting the inoculation of the population. In conversations with the Health Department and from what I heard in the Governor’s press conference today, the vaccine will be voluntary.
Lastly, I want to advise all members of the community how important it is to work with the local Health Department in their efforts to contact trace those infected among our community. Failure to provide information regarding contacts of test positive patients puts others in community at risk. According to the Morris County Department of Health website, Florham Park’s infections rose 6.3% from Friday to today. Our community saw more infections in the month of October than it had in any month this year with the exception of April. Please remember that while the infection appears to not adversely affect our younger population, failing to provide the Health Department with information of infection or contact with an infected person places more vulnerable members of our community at risk. Please remember all we have done to get to this point in protecting our community and be responsible members of the same. The Morris County Department of Health site can be found at the following link:
https://health.morriscountynj.gov/coronavirus/
Be safe!!
Joseph Orlando
Chief of Police/Deputy OEM Coordinator
November 9, 2020