For
Immediate Release:
August 25, 2020
Freeholder
Director calls for reopening of indoor dining, businesses still shut down in
New Jersey
FREEHOLD, NJ – Monmouth County Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone issued
the following statement regarding the reopening of indoor dining and all
businesses that are still shut down in Monmouth County and throughout New
Jersey:
“On
behalf of the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, I am asking Governor
Murphy to either permit restaurants to host indoor dining or, at least, put
together a staged plan with dates on when this next phase will begin. I also
ask the same for gyms and any other industry that has yet to reopen due to the
State’s shutdown orders.
Our
restaurant industry has suffered for nearly fifteen weeks with no solid plan on
when they can resume welcoming patrons inside. While outdoor dining has helped,
it is does not bring in nearly enough revenue for our restaurants to survive
much longer. Not to mention, no one is going to want to dine outdoors come
colder weather. This current operation is not self-sustaining.
The
majority of Monmouth County residents have been socially distancing and making
responsible decisions during this pandemic and the proof is in the numbers.
Even with widespread testing now available, the number of positive Covid cases
has significantly flattened.
In
Monmouth County, we average about 40 or less new positive cases reported daily.
To put this into perspective, our estimated population here is 630,000. This
means that we see about .006% of our population tests positive daily.
We
quarantined so we didn’t overwhelm the hospital system. We flattened the curve.
We’ve acted responsibly and our numbers prove as much.
It’s
time the State joins Monmouth County in having faith in our restaurant industry
and allows them to reopen with the proper policies in place.
We’ve
witnessed several other industries that require close contact reopen without
incident, it’s time to give the same chance to our restaurants.”
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