Full Notification

Tonight Warren County is reporting 708 confirmed cases of Covid-19, with 111 recoveries and 50 deaths. There are 9 cases in Knowlton.

• Knowlton Townwide cleanup has been moved to September 21 – September 26. 
• Residents are invited to attend the Knowlton Township Committee meeting via Zoom tomorrow evening at 7:00 pm.  To participate, dial by phone: (646) 558- 8656. You will need the Meeting ID: 851 0975 5554 and  Password: 524686.  Resident participation is by phone to prevent hacking, which has been a recent problem with some Zoom meetings.
• An update from area hospitals:

Atlantic Health System president and CEO Brian Gragnolati  gave a presentation to local mayors and the county officials today on the virus's impact on our region. Atlantic Health, which operates Newton, Hackettstown, and Morristown hospitals, reached their peak of Covid patients on April 9, 2020, and have been declining steadily since then.  Mr. Gragnolati stressed that many people have been postponing normal medical care and as a result, pronouncements of death for patients being transported to the hospital for non-Covid reasons are double what they were.  He stressed that hospitals continue to treat  patients, regardless of illness, and that all Atlantic Hospitals are equipped with negative pressure air systems and HEPA filters to prevent Covid spread.  They also segregate Covid patients in special areas that are vigorously disinfected with traditional procedures and lasers.

The president said that most Covid-19 positive patients do not require hospitalization, but of the remainder who do, 35% of them require Intensive Care, and 90% of those patients are ventilated.  The average time on a ventilator is 12 days.

The greatest concern is that there could be a resurgence of the pandemic later this year. The medical professionals would like to see that 70% of the population is either vaccinated for Covid-19 or possesses the virus antibodies to prevent another flare-up from occuring.  They stressed that social distancing has been successful in Warren County and thanked the towns for the tremendous outpouring of support and supplies from residents.  It has made all the difference to their medical staff.