2nd Barnegat Police Officer One Mon Officer under self-quarantine

A Second Barnegat Township Police Officer along with an Ocean Township (Monmouth County) Police Officer have been asked him by their respective Chief's to self-quarantine as a precautionary measure.

Barnegat Police Chief Keith Germain issued another release on Sunday providing an update that one of his officers who was asked to self-quarantine late last week after being exposed to an individual flying in from Denmark, which has more than 800 cases of Covid-19, is doing fine.

"First and foremost, our officer who was in contact with the quarantined subject is doing great and is home with his family," Germain said.

A second Barnegat Police Officer, who was on vacation in Europe prior to travel restrictions, has been on a 14-day self-quarantine since his return.

That officer is also doing fine.

"Our officers are continuing to handle as many calls as possible over the telephone to maximize our social distancing and mitigate risks to you by reducing unnecessary contact," Germain said. "I’ve been in regular contact with our Township Administrator and Township Committee. They’ve been fully supportive of our progressive response to this pandemic. Our CFO has also been a huge help in working with us to procure the resources we need."

Chief Germain said he's been in contact with the other Ocean County police chiefs both and that they are working together to troubleshoot challenges and prepare for foreseeable scenarios.

"We are making better decisions and plans because of that collaborative response," Germain said.

While precautionary measures are in place, Chief Germain is pleading with the community in Barnegat and Ocean County to take all of this seriously.

"There is no need to panic, but there are a lot of reasons to take this seriously and follow the advice of the CDC and health departments. The longer we stay in denial as a society embracing the attitude that this is no worse than the flu and that it will only impact the elderly (as if that's an excuse to take it less seriously), the longer it will take us to come out on the other side of this. The available statistics bear that out," Chief Germain said.

Meanwhile, in Ocean Township (Monmouth County) an 83 year-old woman who was transported to the hospital from her residence via ambulance on March 11 has now tested positive for the COVID-19 Virus, the Office of Emergency Management and the Police Department reported on Sunday after being informed by the Monmouth County Regional Health Commission.

As a pre-caution a police officer has been directed to self-isolate for 14 days and two EMS Personnel have been advised to self-monitor themselves for any changes in their heath.

Both cases follow a Manchester Township Police Officer and EMT's who were asked to self-quarantine last week after they collectively responded to a 72-year old man who later tested positive for the virus.

As more people are being tested for the coronavirus, first responders are among those most at risk being on the front lines responding to calls about people who may be very ill.

Ocean County Public Health Coordinator Dan Regenye told WOBM News that there's a way first responders can protect themselves with some general precautions when heading to a call about someone being ill.

"If they're responding to a call and the person is sick, try to get that individual to wear a mask," Regenye said. "The masks are really recommended for those who are sick as oppose to those who are well but the first responders in having that close contact in proximity should be stepping up and doing the hand washing even more."

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