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Doctors are making life-and-death choices over coronavirus patients – it could have long-term consequences for them

Doctors are facing difficult choices in the coronavirus pandemic.
Zoltan Balogh/MTI via AP

Neil Shortland, University of Massachusetts Lowell

As the coronavirus spreads and demand for medical gear far outstrips the supplies, doctors in the U.S. may have to choose who among their patients lives and who dies. Doctors in Italy have already been forced to make such moral choices.

In a recent article in The New York Times, six doctors at five of the major city hospitals said they were worried they would soon have to make painful decisions regarding who should come off lifesaving ventilators.

In addition to the moral anguish of this decision, they also outlined their concern about potential lawsuits or criminal charges if they went against the wishes of a patient or family.

Read the rest of this entry » Posted: April 9th, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: COVID-19 | Tags: | 2 Comments »

Laid-off Employees Scramble for New Health Coverage in COVID-19 Pandemic

State officials, nonprofit leaders offer advice on where to turn as, with businesses shutting down, thousands lose insurance along with jobs

By Jon Hurdle, NJSpotlight

Many thousands of New Jerseyans have lost their employer-paid health insurance as businesses across the state have closed their doors in the COVID-19 pandemic, and now employees are scrambling for coverage through Obamacare or Medicaid.

State officials and nonprofit leaders offered advice on Wednesday on how to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Medicaid, and on where to turn if you are among the estimated 500,000 people who were uninsured even before the coronavirus hit.

Some 70% of New Jersey employees get their health insurance through their employer, and so loss of a job often means loss of health coverage, said Maura Collinsgru, health care program director for New Jersey Citizen Action, a liberal advocacy group that provides direct services to low- and moderate- income people.

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Posted: April 9th, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: COVID-19, New Jersey | Tags: , , | Comments Off on Laid-off Employees Scramble for New Health Coverage in COVID-19 Pandemic

Freehold company is disinfecting emergency vehicles for free

American Restoration technicians disinfecting a Hazlet Police Vehicle

All American Restoration, a Freehold based mold remediation and environmental cleanup company, is using its science and technology to keep Monmouth County first responders safe from COVID-19.

Last weekend the the company disinfected police cars and ambulances in Red Bank, Little Silver and Hazlet, in an effort to prevent first responders from being infected by the corona virus via surface transfer in their vehicles.

Read the rest of this entry » Posted: April 8th, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: COVID-19, Declan O'Scanlon, Monmouth County News | Tags: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Freehold company is disinfecting emergency vehicles for free

Mortgage Help During COVID-19 Crisis, But What About Property Taxes?

Without relief, property owners hit hard by illness or income loss will have to cover payments due May 1 or incur penalties

Homeowners are facing a May 1 deadline for paying property taxes.

By JOHN REITMEYER , NJSpotlight

To ease the economic pain of the coronavirus pandemic, New Jersey homeowners have been granted mortgage relief from banks and a reprieve from evictions. But no such help has been approved thus far from local property tax bills.

That means many homeowners who are dealing with economic hardships caused by severe illness, the loss of a job or a shuttered business are also being forced to cover quarterly property tax payments by a state-imposed May 1 deadline.

Potentially making matters worse for thousands of New Jersey homeowners is the state’s recent freezing of all funding for the next installment of Homestead property-tax relief benefits. They were supposed to be paid out by the state as direct credits to effectively reduce those May quarterly bills, but Trenton is facing its own economic shortfalls.

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Posted: April 8th, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: COVID-19, New Jersey, Property Taxes | Tags: , , , | Comments Off on Mortgage Help During COVID-19 Crisis, But What About Property Taxes?

April 7: 2800 positive COVID-19 cases in Monmouth County, 71 deaths

Monmouth County has 2800 positive cases of COVID-19 as of April 7, according to an announcement by Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Deputy Director Sue Kiley. 71 County residents have succumbed to the virus, according to the NJ Department of Health.

Read the rest of this entry » Posted: April 7th, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: COVID-19, Monmouth County News | Tags: , , , | Comments Off on April 7: 2800 positive COVID-19 cases in Monmouth County, 71 deaths

They said pets couldn’t get the coronavirus, so how did tigers test positive? Vets explain.

Nine lives ago (in February), when the world gawked at photos of Chinese cats wearing masks to ward off the coronavirus, veterinarians elsewhere were quick with reassurance that pets were unlikely to get sick.

The vets are still saying that. But with the news Sunday that a Bronx Zoo tiger had tested positive for the virus, the infected-pet scenario no longer seems quite so far-fetched.

In addition to Nadia, the 4-year-old Malayan tiger with a confirmed infection, six other big cats at the zoo in New York had dry coughs and were presumed infected — prompting other zoos to reexamine their safety m… Read the rest of this entry »

Posted: April 7th, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: COVID-19 | Tags: , , | 1 Comment »

New Jersey coronavirus death toll now at 1,232. Total cases rise to 44,416 with 3K new positive tests.

New Jersey officials reported the coronavirus death toll has increased to 1,232 and total cases in the state have hit 44,416 on Tuesday with 3,361 new positive tests in the last 24 hours and the projected peak for the state still likely weeks away.

“It’s almost unfathomable when you think about it — 1,232 lost lives,” Gov. Phil Murphy said during his daily coronavirus press briefing Tuesday afternoon. The numbers included 232 new deaths – the highest single-day increase during the outbreak. Officials said 10% of the fatalities have been residents of long-term care facilities.“We honor their legac… Read the rest of this entry »

Posted: April 7th, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: COVID-19, Monmouth County, New Jersey | Tags: , | Comments Off on New Jersey coronavirus death toll now at 1,232. Total cases rise to 44,416 with 3K new positive tests.

WhatsApp tightens sharing limits to curb virus misinformation

WhatsApp on Tuesday placed new limits on message forwarding as part of an effort to curb the spread of misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic.

The new policy limits users to forwarding certain messages to one “chat” at a time, aiming to limit the rapid propagation of content which is provocative but likely to be false.

The Facebook-owned messaging platform said it took the action to enable people to concentrate on personal and private communications during the health crisis.In recent weeks, “we’ve seen a significant increase in the amount of forwarding which users have told us can feel ov… Read the rest of this entry »

Posted: April 7th, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: COVID-19 | Tags: , | Comments Off on WhatsApp tightens sharing limits to curb virus misinformation

Muprhy Closes All State And County Parks

Governor Phil Murphy announced that he is ordering all State and County parks in New Jersey in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Read the rest of this entry » Posted: April 7th, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: COVID-19, Monmouth County News | Tags: , , , | 6 Comments »

Governor Muphy’s April 7 COVID-19 Briefing

Posted: April 7th, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: COVID-19, New Jersey | Tags: , , , | Comments Off on Governor Muphy’s April 7 COVID-19 Briefing