COVID Alert NJ is New Jersey's free and secure mobile app that anonymously alerts users if they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. The app also provides users with up-to-date information on New Jersey reopening news, key COVID-19 metrics, and a user-friendly symptom tracking tool. COVID Alert NJ uses Bluetooth proximity technology. The app will never record any identifying data. All users will remain anonymous. When your app senses a close contact, your phone will exchange a secure random code with the close contact's phone. Each day, the app will compare your list of close contact codes to the list of codes associated with positive COVID-19 app users. If there's a match you will get an Exposure Alert, along with appropriate next steps. It's important to note that your location and name are never disclosed

Merchantville COVID-19 case total since March 2020 is 178. We have seen a marked increase of confirmed cases during the first two weeks of December, growing from 148 to 178 cases. This past weekend, the Borough added 10 cases: four on Saturday, 12/12 - a male in his 50s, a male in his 40s, a male in his 80s and a male in his 20s; five on Sunday, 12/13 - a male in his 30s, a female in her 30s, a female in her 40s, a female in her 70s and a female in her 20s; and one on Monday, 12/14 - a female in her 60s. Camden County added six new deaths and 1,005 additional cases caused by novel coronavirus (COVID-19) this weekend. Follow county data here. MASK UP - STOP THE SPREAD - FLATTEN THE CURVE

On September 23rd, members of the Borough's Public Health Department and OEM, Joan Brennan and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., sent a request to Camden County Health Officer & Public Health Coordinator, Dr. Paschal Nwako, to ask for a reassessment of the sudden increase in Covid-19 deaths identified in Merchantville between Friday, September 18th and 21st. Merchantville suspected that the county had accidentally attributed deaths to Merchantville residents rather than Pennsauken residents who shared our 08109 zip code. The Borough has been following county case and death data tracking for seven months so, the unexpected jump from three (3) to eleven (11) deaths over the weekend was very concerning. Dr. Nwako's team, who had recently evaluated the county deaths numbers to align with the state confirmed deaths numbers available at www.covid19.nj.gov., worked to cross-check the addresses within the 08109 zip code to determine if these persons were indeed residents of Merchantville when the deaths occurred. On Wednesday, October 7th, the Camden County Division of Emergency Management published reconciled all "deaths by municipality" as identified by the County Health Officer and the number of deaths in Merchantville, attributed to Covid-19, was reduced from eleven (11) to one (1).

In-person learning is increasingly being put on hold at school districts throughout the state because staff and students are testing positive for coronavirus or coming into close contact with people who have. Here’s the most comprehensive list yet of N.J. schools teaching remotely because of COVID-19. On September 30th NJ launched a dashboard that identifies counties, number of schools and cases that were transmitted in school buildings or through school activities. Currently, 88 schools have had a total of 388 cases. In some cases, the switch to all-remote classes is temporary, but many districts have opted to go remote through January. The district will be fully remote 11/30-1/15/21. Haddon Heights: Students in grades 4 through 12 will learn remotely from 12/14-12/23.

The CDC director and several other government officials testified before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies and reported that face masks may provide more protection than coronavirus vaccine. Face coverings are “the most powerful public health tool” the nation has against the coronavirus and might even provide better protection against it than a vaccine, the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told lawmakers Wednesday. “We have clear scientific evidence they work, and they are our best defense,” CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said, “I might even go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against Covid than when I take a Covid vaccine.” Redfield also predicted that it will take “six to nine” months to get every American vaccinated, saying the U.S. should have enough doses to return to “regular life” by the third quarter of next year.