MONROE – The township reached a positive milestone in its fight against COVID-19 with the report of zero new cases, according to Mayor Gerald Tamburro on May 29.
“Make no mistake, this pandemic has caused plenty of sacrifice in all corners of Monroe Township,” he said. “But I know that, together, we have acted in a way that saved many lives and we will see our way through this as a community. I am proud to say Monroe was among the first communities in the state to shut down in the wake of this pandemic. And over the past two months, we have seen the importance of an organized emergency response and the efforts of our residents to be disciplined to protect each other. I believe it has made all the difference, preventing what could have been much worse.”
Tamburro said the township continues to face an unprecedented challenge ahead.
“Moving forward, we know that there will be additional positive cases and deaths, but what we are doing is making a difference,” he said.
The township has a total of 696 COVID-19 cases and has lost 101 residents to the virus, 75 in long-term care facilities and 26 community-wide.
There are 46 known positive COVID-19 cases from the New Jersey Training School for Boys.
The township announced the cancellation of the township Recreation Summer Day Camp, July Fourth fireworks at Thompson Park, and all Senior Center group programming through July 31 in the best interest of public health and safety.
The Monroe Township Food Pantry provides assistance for residents, families in need. For more information contact Karen Theer at 609-448-7140. Another resource is the Middlesex County Food Organization and Outreach Services (MCFOODS) Directory, which directs people to an agency in their area that can provide them with emergency food assistance as well as Jewish Family Services. For more information and MCFOODS email [email protected] or call 732-729-0880 and for Jewish Family Services call 609-395-7979.
Donations to the food pantry can be mailed to Office of Senior Services, 12 Halsey Reed Road, Monroe Township, NJ 08831, Re: Food Pantry. Checks should be made payable to “Friends of the Senior Center” with “Food Bank” written in the memo line of the check.
Antibody testing is now available along with COVID-19 testing at MyInstaDoc, 298 Applegarth Road for anyone wishing to be tested. The facility will serve pre-registered COVID-19 testing patients from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Antibody blood testing will be conducted in-office by appointment.
To be considered, a patient must be free from all COVID-19 symptoms for no less than 14 days. This test will assess them for subclinical infection in the past.
The COVID-19 drive-thru testing site serves pre-registered patients from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and drive-up patients from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays. Pre-register at www.myinstadocmonroe.com or call 609-207-3220 to speak with a medical professional. A person does not have to be symptomatic to be tested.
COVID-19 testing is also available at Hackensack Meridian Urgent Care in Monroe at 215 Applegarth Road. The facility is offering antibody blood testing and COVID-19 nasal swab testing walk-in or by appointment from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the weekend. For more information call 732-263-7922 to schedule an appointment.
For more information visit www.COVID19.nj.gov.
For Middlesex County information on COVID-19 information visit discovermiddlesex.com/covid19/ or www.middlesexcountynj.gov/covid19.