New initiative to assist restaurants in Monmouth County

FREEHOLD, NJ – Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone held a press conference today to announce “Take Out in Monmouth,” the newly-implemented initiative to assist restaurants in Monmouth County as a result of COVID-19 closures.

“Today we are announcing ‘Take Out in Monmouth,’ an initiative that will help both businesses and residents,” said Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone, liaison to both the Division of Economic Development and Division of Tourism. “To help keep our food and restaurant industry open during this time, we are preparing a comprehensive list of all food and restaurant businesses that remain open for take-out and delivery. This information will then be placed on TakeOutinMonmouth.com.”

Numerous municipalities and local chambers of commerce have already created lists that have been shared online. A Countywide list of food and restaurant businesses will soon be available online at www.TakeOutinMonmouth.com.

Freeholder Director Arnone also provided updates on COVID-19 in Monmouth County and discussed the continuation of County operations.

“We are announcing today that County operations will continue, as they are now, through April 30, meaning restricted public access to buildings and County employees practicing social distancing and some working on alternative schedules,” said Freeholder Director Arnone. “The park open spaces will stay open, but that is only as long as every visitor to our parks follows social distancing guidelines and remains at least six feet away from other visitors. If these guidelines are not followed, we will have no choice but to completely close the parks.”

At the press conference, the Freeholder Director reminded County residents to go to 2020census.gov or call 844-330-2020 to ensure that their households are counted for the 2020 United States Census. The Census count determines how New Jersey is represented in Congress and directly impacts federal funding.

The Freeholder Director also thanked the many individuals who have volunteered to help the Monmouth County Health Department during this pandemic.

“As many of you know, at last week’s press conference, we asked any available nurses to volunteer with the Monmouth County Health Department to do case management,” added Freeholder Director Arnone. “I was overwhelmed by the response we received and I just want publicly thank each of the 26 school nurses, along with every other volunteer, who have stepped up to answer the call. It is times like this that make me so proud of our Monmouth County community.”

For more information about COVID-19 news and updates, go to www.visitmonmouth.com.