From Ocean County:

TOMS RIVER – Ocean County officials signed an emergency proclamation on March 16 that calls for the closure of all county government buildings to the public for all non-essential county business starting at 11:59 p.m., March 16, among other actions to help curtail the spread of COVID 19.

“It’s important we have this proclamation in place so we can ask for additional federal and state resources when necessary and also to protect the public and our employees during a time when social distancing can’t be stressed enough,” said Ocean County Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari, who signed the proclamation along with Ocean County Sheriff Michael G. Mastronardy, who is the county’s emergency management coordinator.

One action included in the proclamation was closing all Ocean County buildings to the public effective shortly before midnight March 16 for all non-essential county business.

The public should call 732-244-2121, which is the central switchboard to reach the county department it may need. Also, additional contact information on all county government departments is available on the Ocean County website at www.co.ocean.nj.us.

The Ocean County Surrogate will be restricting public access to their office in the County Courthouse during the ongoing Coronavirus emergency.

Surrogate Office employees will report to work and be available to residents by phone 732-929-2011 and by email that can accessed at www.co.ocean.us/OC/surrogate.

“Our number one priority is the safety of our residents and so, at this time, we have decided to take immediate actions to prevent the spread of COVID-19”, said Surrogate Jeffrey W. Moran.

“This is a time of unprecedented actions that need to be taken in order to protect the public and our government workers,” Vicari said. “We are making every effort to continue to provide our services but for now we will have to do most of the work over the telephone or by email and websites. I encourage our citizens to call the county offices with any questions about doing business with the County.”