Coronavirus Update - March 25, 2020

There is one new COVID-19 positive confirmation in the Township to report today. The total number of positive cases in Washington Township is now five. The Washington Township Health Department continues to monitor the positive cases and the individuals remain in isolation. View the Health Department Information Release HERE.

Executive Order 107 closing certain non-essential retail businesses was amended, on March 24, to add additional essential retail businesses: Mobile phone retail and repair shops; Bicycle shops, but only to provide service and repair; Livestock feed stores; Nurseries and garden centers; Farming equipment stores.

Playgrounds are closed but walking trails are open. Please keep 6' separation. The County's Columbia Trail is the most popular but try some of the others in WT.

The recycling center will be open Saturday. We ask customers to unload their own recyclables and maintain six feet separation.

All Firearms Application & Registration System (FARS) applications will be processed with an expected delay due to the COVID-19 response and recovery. FARS will continue to accept new applications, however it is expected that the background investigations and processing times will be significantly delayed. It is important to note that initial applications will be indefinitely delayed due to the closure of the States contracted fingerprint vendor sites. This portion of the background process will continue as soon as non-essential businesses are allowed to reopen.

The Washington Township Police Department has started an online reporting system to help people get assistance with non-emergency matters. Citizens can report criminal mischief, harassment, lost property, property damage, minor thefts, and fraud/credit card theft. This is for non-emergency reports only. The link is: https://www.frontlinepss.com/WashingtonTownship

The Washington Township Municipal Offices will continue to be closed to the public.  Offices are staffed in a staggered manner to prevent spread of any illnesses should they impact Township employees. 

Many    documents    and forms   can also be    found online at: https://wtmorris.org/index.php/government/township-forms-and-documents. Service Requests can also be made online at  https://wtmorris.net/

The Township of Washington offers the ability to make payments on line for:

•    Taxes: https://wtmorris.org/index.php/departments/tax-collector/tax-payment-portal.html 

•    Alarm Registration: https://wtmorris.org/index.php/services/make-a-payment/alarm-registration.html 

•     Recreation:  https://wtmorris.org/index.php/services/make-a-payment/recreation-payments.html 

•     Traffic Tickets: https://wtmorris.org/index.php/departments/municipal-court.html 

-   other tickets without mandatory appearances can be paid over the phone by credit card by calling 908-876-3852

You may also call ahead to obtain payment amounts for taxes, permits, etc. and identifying info for the memo line if you wish to pay by check and leave it in the Municipal Building dropbox (located on the left side of the front door) which will be checked frequently. Department contact phone numbers and email are available at:  https://wtmorris.org/index.php/departments.html 

The New Jersey Poison Information and Education System (NJPIES) opened a COVID-19 Information Hotline to assist in answering questions from the general public. Residents should contact the call center at 1-800-222- 1222 or, if in NJ but using a non-NJ cell phone, at 1-800-962-1253. The call center is available 24/7 and can accommodate calls in multiple languages. Clinicians should contact their local health department for guidance.

Additional information can be found on NJ Department of Health’s website:  https://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/topics/ncov.shtml and the CDC website at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

For more information, residents can also contact the Washington Township Health Department at 908-876-3650.

The Health Department does not conduct COVID-19 lab testing.

Mayor Matthew T. Murello