MERCER COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM RESPONDS
MERCER COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM RESPONDS
| If you’re looking for a respite from these trying times, the Mercer County Library System (MCLS) is ready to provide it.
The Library System continues to serve its patrons, keeping them engaged with expanded free, online content, while its physical buildings are closed. Visit the MCLS website at www.mcl.org for access to online magazines, eBooks, television shows and movies, comic books, audiobooks and music. How-to videos for using the library’s’ virtual resources may be found on the MCLS YouTube channel, as well as computer classes taught by Keith Beagin, system technology trainer. |
If you are missing visiting the library for children’s programming, go to the Kids’ Page or the MCLS YouTube channel for access to online story times in English and Spanish, crafts, music and science sessions, and activities presented by youth services librarians.
Content is being added daily to the library’s Facebook page, including Tuesday Trivia Night events, where you can tune in every Tuesday at 7 p.m. for trivia games, and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. for discussions of readily available short stories. A library card is not necessary to visit any of the library’s social media pages.
For a wide variety of information for school work, personal research or just curiosity, take advantage of the library’s always-available database by visiting the Virtual Branch page of the library’s website and the blog that can be found on the main page of the library’s website. Reference questions are being answered remotely via the eReference service Ask a Librarian.
Don’t have an MCLS library card, but think you are eligible for one? Staff will issue temporary cards between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily, until the library reopens to the public, emailing an access barcode. For more information about this NEW and temporary service, click here.
Keep healthy, keep washing hands, and keep aware of information as it becomes available through New Jersey’s official COVID-19 information site, https://covid19.nj.gov, and Mercer County’s website, www.mercercounty.org. Please be assured, no library materials will be due during the closing, and no overdue fines will accrue, so hold onto your library materials until you can visit again.
| WASH YOUR HANDS. STAY AT HOME.
To mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and protect the capacity of New Jersey’s health care system for the state’s most vulnerable, all residents are under a stay-at-home order issued by Gov. Phil Murphy. Executive Order No. 107 provides for certain exceptions, such as obtaining essential goods or services, seeking medical attention, visiting family or close friends, reporting to work, or engaging in outdoor activities. It also directs the closure of all non-essential retail businesses to the public. Find more information at covid19.nj.gov. |
HAVE GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT COVID-19?
The NJ Poison Control Center and 211 have partnered with the State to provide information to the public on COVID-19:
Call: 2-1-1
Call (24/7): 1-800-962-1253
Text: NJCOVID to 898-211
Visit covid19.nj.gov or nj.gov/health for additional information
| PREVENTION
To ensure the lowest chance of obtaining the virus, and spreading the virus to others: |
| SYMPTOMS
Symptoms – fever, cough, shortness of breath – can appear between 2-14 days after exposure, though some people may not have any symptoms while still being contagious. It’s also important to consider whether you’ve been in contact with an infected person, as well as any symptoms you may be experiencing. If you believe you’ve been infected and you are not in immediate danger, you should contact your doctor by phone. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911, and notify the dispatch personnel that you may have COVID-19. |
COPING WITH STRESS
If you’re feeling stressed, anxious or depressed due to COVID-19, please call New Jersey’s Mental Health Hotline at 877-294-HELP (4357) or visit njmentalhealthcares.org for emotional support, guidance, and mental health referrals as needed. You also may call the SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746 (TTY 1-800-846-8517).
JOBS AND HIRING
Did you lose your job or have your hours reduced as a result of COVID-19? Businesses across New Jersey need thousands of workers for immediate hire. Learn more about who is hiring in your community at jobs.covid19.nj.gov.
BUSINESS ASSISTANCE
For information on COVID-19/Novel Coronavirus and its impact on businesses – including resources, assistance and regulations — visit the State of New Jersey business portal and the Mercer County Office of Economic Development.
CONSUMER COMPLAINTS
If you receive a call from a scammer or suspect price gouging, please report it to the Division of Consumer Affairs at (973) 504-6240 or at www.njconsumeraffairs.gov.
| CURRENT STATUS
The New Jersey Department of Health on March 26 announced 2,492 new positive cases, bringing the total of positive cases in the state to 6,876, with 81 deaths. The most positive cases are in Bergen County, which has 1,206; Mercer County has 111. Visit the New Jersey Department of Health’s COVID-19 Dashboard for more information. The CDC on March 26 announced a total of 68,440 cases of COVID-19 in the United States, and a total of 994 deaths, with 54 locations (50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and U.S. Virgin Islands) reporting cases. This includes both confirmed and presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 reported to CDC or tested at CDC since Jan. 21, 2020. State and local public health departments are now testing and publicly reporting their cases. This is a rapidly evolving situation. For more information about COVID-19 visit covid19.nj.gov or cdc.gov. |
