The Top-10 most read, watched Jersey Shore Covid stories of 2020: #8

We are continuing our simultaneous countdowns of the Top-10 Most Read Jersey Shore Covid News Stories and Most Watched Jersey Shore Covid News Videos of 2020.

Here is the 8th most read Covid article followed by the 8th most watched Covid video on our social media platforms of Facebook and YouTube across 92.7 WOBM, 94.3ThePoint, 105.7TheHawk, the new Beach 104.1 FM and the Shore Sports Network.

8th Most Read Covid Article...Monmouth County Government Declares Local State of Emergency. (14,177 page views), Story Date: March 20, 2020.

As the coronavirus continued to take its toll on the Jersey Shore, a number of restrictions were being put in place as well as other methods to help ensure the safety and health of the communities.

In Monmouth County, Freeholders and the Office of Emergency Management announced the signing of an emergency declaration on March 20 to grant the county access to additional resources.

"It gives us the access to county facilities, actives the staff in the Monmouth County Emergency Operations Center and it utilizes county employees where needed including assignments outside of their normal work locations," Monmouth County Freeholder Director Tom Arnone said at a press conference.

Those outside normal work locations may include assisting in the Emergency Management Operations Center.

"I want to commend the Freeholder Board for declaring the County State of Emergency which will allow our Emergency Management team to move assets, purchase equipment, enter into mutual aid and deploy as needed, things that we need to do around the county," Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden said.

The resources in the Emergency Operations Center include the County Health Department, Prosecutors Office, EMS Task Force and the OEM team.

Meanwhile, the Monmouth County Division of Social Services began accepting clients in their reception area, "where precautions have been put into place to ensure there's no physical contact between Monmouth County employees and residents seeking services."

There was also an influx of 911 calls to the Emergency Operations Center at that point with callers who say they have symptoms of the novel coronavirus.

Sheriff Golden asked that residents should only dial 911 if it's actual emergency.

"Please, only in an emergency...if you have a life-threatening illness, should you be dialing 911," Golden said.

Dispatchers and operators are playing a critical role in helping slow down those kinds of non-emergent calls.

"We have additional call-screening which was set up by the state office of telecomm services that guides our 911 systems throughout the state of New Jersey," Golden said. "There are additional questioning by our operators about flu like symptoms and narrowing that down to Covid-19 symptoms."

You can read more from the story here.

8th Most Watched Covid Video...Monmouth County Summer Plan, 'Know Before You Go'. (2,067 video views), Story Date: May 19, 2020.

Before you were to head to your favorite beach and boardwalk in Monmouth County this summer, there's information that you needed to "Know Before You Go."

We were heading into a different kind of summer than any of us are accustomed to seeing due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent rules, regulations and guidelines in affect across the state.

Monmouth County Freeholders organized all of that information for each of their beach towns so you can go on your computer or mobile device at home and check on what's open and closed before you take a drive to your favorite summer spot.

Freeholder Director Tom Arnone explained at a press conference in May that by taking a look at visitmonmouth.com before you hit the road, you'd know information including which beaches are open and which ones are closed which is just as important for residents to know as tourists who visit the Jersey Shore.

"Before you get in your car and you come from the north or the south, know before you go because you could be wasting a trip. You could come all the way to one of your favorite destinations and drive all the way to one of our popular beaches and see that you can't get on this week, this week you might not be able to get on," Arnone said. "Instead of coming all the way down here and being angry, we're going to give you the tool to know what's going on. Is it all seasonal badges, are they limited daily? Are there parking changes?...all those will be on our county website."

Freeholder Director Arnone warned tourists who like to visit the Jersey Shore and Monmouth County beaches that there was a new normal this summer with new rules to be followed.

"Come to the Jersey Shore but know that it's different and respect our law enforcement when they tell you it's different because they're going to tell you it's different," Arnone said. "That's going to be their new job now. They've always done it very well but now they have an added burden on them."

You can read more from this story here.

Check back here on our website and app for #7 in our countdown of the Top-10 Most Read Jersey Shore Covid News Articles and Most Watched Jersey Shore Covid News Videos of 2020.

Top-10 Covid Stories Recap:

10th Most Read Covid Article...15 Charged as Ocean County Prosecutors, Lakewood Police Break Up Funeral With 70 People.

10th Most Watched Covid Video....Monmouth County Opens Up Six Free Covid-19 Test Sites.

9th Most Read Covid Article...Ocean County Police Chiefs Monitoring Coronavirus Activity.

9th Most Watched Covid Video...Monmouth County Covid Business & Primary Plans.

You can follow Vin Ebenau on Twitter and Instagram and email news tips to vin.ebenau@townsquaremedia.com.