City of Montclair Township

MONTCLAIR COVID-19 UPDATES

Visit the township COVID-19 updates section for the latest information on township operations.

Essex County Weequahic Park Testing Site (Nasal Swab Test)

• New hours: Mondays 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.
• Wednesday and Friday testing hours: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
• Drive-through only

Appointments are required – to make an appointment visit www.EssexCOVID.org or call 973-324-9950.

• Essex County residents with or without symptoms are encouraged to get tested
• Residents are encouraged to get tested if they have taken the swab or saliva tests 14 days ago or more and have received negative test results.
• Residents age 13 and older are welcome to get tested
• Testing is provided free of charge to Essex County residents. No insurance is required.

Posted Thursday, June 4, 2020

We all need to work together with our Health Department staff to slow the spread of COVID-19.

• Now that we’ve worked together to flatten the curve, it’s time to slow the spread of COVID-19.
• Be part of the solution to slow the spread.
• Help the Health Department slow transmission in our community.

Your actions make all of us safer. Public health workers are here to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

If you are diagnosed with COVID-19, a case investigator from the Health Department might call you to check-in on your health, discuss who you’ve been in contact with and ask you to stay at home to self-isolate.

• Unless you give permission, your name will not be revealed to those you came in contact with, even if they ask.
• The Health Department will ask you to stay at home and self-isolate.
  • Self-isolation means staying at home in a specific room away from other people and pets, and using a separate bathroom, if possible.
  • Self-isolation is critical to protecting those you live with as well as your community.
  • Self-isolation helps slow the spread of COVID-19 and can help keep your friends and neighbors healthy.
  • If you need support or assistance while self-isolating, then the Health Department or community organizations may be able to provide assistance.
• Seek medical care if symptoms become severe. Severe symptoms include trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, confusion, inability to wake or stay awake, or bluish lips or face.

If you have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19, a case investigator from the Health Department might call to inform you that you’ve been exposed. They will ask you to stay at home and self-quarantine.

• Close contact means you were within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 10 minutes.
• You should stay at home and self-quarantine for 14 days, starting from the most recent day that you were possibly exposed to COVID-19. The contact tracer will inform you of the dates of your self-quarantine.
  • Self-quarantine means staying home, monitoring yourself, and maintaining social distancing (at least 6 feet from others at all times). You should remain in a specific room separate from other non-exposed people and pets in your home, and use a separate bathroom, if possible.
  • If you need to be around other people or animals in or outside of the home, wear a cloth face covering. This will help protect the people around you.
  • If you need support or assistance with self-quarantine, then your health department or community organizations may be able to provide assistance.
  • Self-quarantine helps slow the spread of COVID-19 and can help keep your friends and neighbors healthy.
• You should monitor yourself for any symptoms of COVID-19 and notify your health department if you develop symptoms. Seek medical care if symptoms become severe. Severe symptoms include trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, confusion, inability to wake or stay awake, or bluish lips or face.

Key Actions

• Pick up the phone when a Health Department employee calls.
• Follow Health Department guidance.
• Notify your healthcare provider if you become ill.
• Call your healthcare provider if you start to feel ill and you have not been tested for COVID-19.
• If you have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19, you should stay at home and self-quarantine for 14 days, starting from the most recent day that you were possibly exposed to COVID-19. Monitor yourself, and maintain social distancing (at least 6 feet) from others at all times.
• Notify those who you had close contact with recently if you become ill.
• Know what symptoms mean you need to go to the hospital right away.
• Seek medical care if symptoms become severe. Severe symptoms include trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, confusion, inability to wake or stay awake, or bluish lips or face.

The bottom line: Making a choice to help the Health Department in the fight against COVID-19 keeps you, your family, and our community safe.

NJ DMI Resource Guide

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

The spread of COVID-19 has negatively impacted statewide infrastructure and reduced the availability of a wide number of Health and Prevention Sharing Network (HPSN) resources, which are essential for NJ’s Drug Monitoring Initiative (DMI) partners and the individuals they serve.

In response to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, NJ's DMI created a “New Jersey Resource Guide” to provide its partners and the public with links to relevant resources for a variety of topics. The Resource Guide includes information on the Governor's COVID-19 updates, COVID-19 links, COVID-19 testing sites, list of programs still offering naloxone in NJ, where to find mental health support, grief support, crisis hotlines, food banks, emergency shelters, and much more.

The Resource Guide can be downloaded here:

https://www.njcares.gov/ohh/downloads/DMI_COVID-19_Resource-Guide.pdf

Check back to the above "New Jersey Resource Guide" link for updated versions of the guide (last updated May 7, 2020).

Coronavirus Hotline at New Jersey Poison Center Assists Over 15,000 Residents

Friday, April 10, 2020
The COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) outbreak has hit New Jersey hard. Thousands of residents are ill with coronavirus (confirmed positive) and the numbers continues to soar each day. During this time of uncertainty, all residents are frightened and concerned for their health and that of their loved ones. In response, Governor Phil Murphy and the New Jersey Department of Health established the NJ Coronavirus Hotline, 1-800-962-1253, to provide up-to-date medical information about this emerging outbreak to the public, 24/7, in any language. This is in partnership with NJ 2-1-1, the statewide hotline providing non-medical assistance about COVID-19 including information about housing, unemployment, and testing site locations.

The New Jersey Poison Information and Education System (NJPIES), also known as the New Jersey Poison Center, has been part of the State’s COVID-19 response since late January when the Governor announced opening the NJ Coronavirus Hotline. Poison Center staff have worked around the clock to provide a reliable resource to concerned New Jerseyans — credible information to alleviate fear and dispel rumors, up-to-date guidance for ill persons and the worried well, and best-practices for prevention. NJPIES has also recruited many healthcare volunteers within Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) to assist with call volume. With emerging outbreaks, information changes quickly. Poison center staff are in daily contact with State and Federal health officials to monitor questions as they arise and to also participate in daily briefings on new information.

“Since its inception, the State’s Coronavirus Hotline has assisted over 15,000 New Jersey callers, with an unprecedented surge in call volume as the pandemic has unfolded in our state,” says Diane Calello, MD, Executive and Medical Director of the New Jersey Poison Control Center at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School’s Department of Emergency Medicine. “To ensure the coronavirus hotline stays accessible to the public during the current surge, we implemented a contingency plan which enables us to continue our mission of providing medical advice and assistance 24/7 — expanded our available phone lines, put remote teleworker status into effect to allow additional staff on the phones, and deployed a multidisciplinary team of Rutgers graduate student and faculty volunteers. Moving forward, we continue to expand our staffing with dedicated healthcare volunteers throughout the state.”

As COVID-19 continues to march through New Jersey, the hotline will be available 24 hours a day to assist the public with their growing concerns. “We ask that callers remain patient while waiting to speak with one of our staff. Hold times are longer than usual for the Poison Center as we continue to provide medical advice and assistance to over 500 callers a day,” says Calello.

Are you a New Jersey resident looking for information on novel coronavirus (COVID-19)? There are three options available — Call 2-1-1; Call 1-800-962-1253 (the NJ Poison Center); or Text: NJCOVID to 898-211.

If someone is unconscious, not breathing, hard to wake up, or having a seizure, call 9-1-1 immediately.

Help is Just a Phone Call Away!

Stay Connected: Facebook (@NJPIES) and Twitter (@NJPoisonCenter).

COVID-19: Health Actions to Protect You and Your Family

The New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) provides a chart with information to help people determine actions to take based on their health status and symptoms.

According to NJDOH people with mild illness do not necessarily need to be tested for COVID-19. Contact your health care provider for more information based on your personal health history.

Download the NJDOH COVID-19: Health Actions to Protect You and Your Family chart.

Proper Disposal of Masks and Latex Gloves

Wednesday, April 8, 2020
The recycling facility that receives and processes Montclair’s recycling has reported receiving a large amount of latex gloves and masks in the recycling loads.

MASKS AND LATEX GLOVES ARE NOT CONSIDERED HOUSEHOLD RECYCLING.

THEY MUST BE DISPOSED OF AS TRASH.

For the sake of the health of recycling facility crews who must remain healthy to continue this essential service, please dispose of these items properly – IN THE TRASH.