The borough of Red Bank has joined Asbury Park in both declaring a State of Local Disaster Emergency on Sunday as a precautionary measure but also to continue to instill the importance of social distancing.

The Borough of Red Bank Mayor & Council, Administration, Office of Emergency Management, Police Department and Fire Department said in an official statement that the state of emergency is due to an increase of positive COVID-19 cases throughout Monmouth County (none in Red Bank to date) and New Jersey,

"It is appropriate and necessary for the Borough of Red Bank to continue being proactive and a leader in its approach to advance social distancing, including preventing large gatherings in the Borough. The health and safety of our community must be our number one priority."

Here are the temporary restrictions now in place:

  • All non-essential places of business with occupancy greater than 25 persons are closed to the public effective March 16, 2020 at 11:59 p.m.  This shall include restaurants, liquor establishments, private gyms, theaters, etc.
  • All bars and restaurant establishments, with and without a liquor license, are no longer permitted to serve patrons within the establishment.  Any bar or restaurant establishment that currently offers food service will be permitted to conduct food takeout and food delivery service only.
  • All establishments with a liquor license will no longer be permitted to sell, dispense, or distribute alcoholic beverages effective March 16, 2020 at 11:59 p.m.

Violators may be subject to fines and penalties.

"It is incumbent upon all of us to aggressively mitigate the potential for exposure and further spread. We apologize for any inconvenience but the safety of our business community and the public is our main concern. We appreciate your advance cooperation and understanding during this difficult time."

The Borough encourages businesses to be proactive and follow the guidelines of the U.S. CDC which can be found at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/organizations/businesses-employers.html.

For up-to-date information and recommendations, you can visit the NJDOH coronavirus webpage (https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/ncov.shtml) and the CDC coronavirus webpage (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/index.html).

The City of Asbury Park's Emergency Management Coordinator announced the state of emergency on Sunday in an effort to protect the health of the community.

  • As of today, city facilitates will be closed to the public and certain restrictions will be placed upon service establishments in Asbury Park requiring early closings on a daily basis.
  • All of the restrictions will stay in effect until further notice.
  • All service establishments in Asbury Park with a liquor license (bars and restaurants) must close to the public on a daily basis no later than 10:00pm beginning March 15, 2020.
  • Service establishments without a liquor license, but that have an occupancy of 75 or more, (restaurants, event spaces, hotel lobbies, retail etc), will be required to close no later than 10:00pm on a daily basis beginning March 15, 2020.

All City of Asbury Park facilities will be closed to the public as well, effective immediately, including City Hall, Municipal Court, the Public Library, the Senior Center and the Department of Public Works.


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