Ridgewood NJ, Senators Kristin M. Corrado and Anthony M. Bucco have introduced legislation calling for an end to weekly testing for New Jersey public school teachers, support staff, and bus drivers who did not receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Entrepreneur. Small Businesswoman. Fiscal Conservative. Loyal.
These are the qualities that Linda T. Barba possesses and that is why I am backing her candidacy to be the next Bergen County Executive.
For years, and especially in the aftermath of COVID-19, Linda has spent day in and day out supporting and promoting local small businesses. She understands that the backbone of Bergen County is not comprised of career politicians and their out of county cronies, but of the men and women who work each and every day in small businesses throughout this great County. In my opinion, Linda is the ideal person to be the Republican Party’s standard bearer heading into this year’s election.
Photos by Julio Eduardo Herrera/the Archdiocese of Newark
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Newark NJ, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic started two years ago, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., archbishop of Newark, celebrated Easter Sunday Mass before a filled Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark on April 17.
Trenton NJ. Senator Kristin M. Corrado chastised the Motor Vehicle Commission today calling the continued delays and congestion at MVC facilities “offensive” to hardworking New Jerseyans.
The District has updated its health and safety protocols in response to the State mandate requiring in-school universal masking that will expire on March 7, 2022. These changes have been made in consultation with the Village of Ridgewood Health Department and the School Physician after careful review of the revised NJDOH guidance.
Ridgewood NJ, “TEST TO STAY” GUIDANCE The US CDC on December 17 said unvaccinated students exposed to a person with COVID-19 can remain in school if they are tested twice in the week following exposure and both tests are negative. The new guidance, known as “test to stay,” is an effort to keep children in school instead of having to quarantine at home and miss class, while also alleviating the burden on parents to arrange child care.
Ridgewood NJ, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is revising the current Global Testing Order to shorten the timeline for required testing for all international air travelers to one day before departure to the United States. This revision strengthens already robust protocols in place for international travel, including requirements for foreign travelers to be fully vaccinated.
Washington D.C., the administration of US President Joe Biden today announced the details of 2 policies covering more than 100 million workers in an effort to get more people in the US vaccinated against COVID-19. The first rule, issued by the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), applies to employers with 100 or more employees and requires them to ensure their workers are either fully vaccinated or undergo weekly testing for SARS-CoV-2, for which employers are not required to pay. The rule also requires employers to provide paid-time off for employees to get vaccinated and compel unvaccinated workers to wear a face mask while at work. Employers who willfully do not comply with the mandate could face fines of up to $14,000 per violation, with the possibility of multiple citations per business. The second rule, issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), requires all healthcare workers employed at facilities that participate in Medicaid and Medicare—approximately 76,000 facilities nationwide—be fully vaccinated, with no option for testing but allowances for medical and religious exemptions.
Washington DC, The Food and Drug Administration advisory committee on Friday rejected a proposal to distribute booster shots of Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccines to the general public, paring back those plans to unanimously recommend the third shots to people age 65 and older and other vulnerable Americans.
Sommerville NJ, Jack Ciattarelli, Republican candidate for New Jersey Governor, released the following statement ahead of Phil Murphy’s announcement of a mask mandate for New Jersey’s public school students:
“Governor Phil Murphy has done it again. His decision to require masks for K-12 students is a bewildering reversal of his position of just a few weeks ago. Let me be clear, I oppose Governor Murphy’s mask mandate for students. The science is clear: nearly all children who contract COVID-19 are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic and wearing masks for children is terrible for their social and emotional development. Bottom line, whether a child wears a mask should be decided by parents, not government. If someone wants to have their child wear a mask, they should feel free to do so, but it’s not something that should be forced on children, nor should their learning be inhibited in any way. Finally, this feels like the first step towards another Murphy lockdown, which is something our children, businesses, and taxpayers cannot afford or are willing to accept.”
Trenton NJ, in an open letter Sussex County Commissioners Dawn Fantasia & Christopher Carney promise to fully investigate the Murphy Administration’s COVID nursing home policies which led to the death of over 8,000 victims .
River Vale NJ, Senator Holly Schepisi said updated requirements issued by the Murphy Administration for congregate day programs that serve adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities will continue to leave many vulnerable people without access to the support programs they require.
Trenton NJ, Following New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s announcement of the Excelsior Pass program which will allow people to prove their vaccination or COVID-19 status, Senator Michael Testa introduced legislation that would bar such ‘Vaccine Passport’ from being mandated in New Jersey.