Wednesday, 27 May 2020
www.TheObserver.com
Vol. CXXXIII, No. 3
MORE ON THE INSIDE Hudson County Community College prepares for life after remote learning See Page 12 BELLEVILLE • BLOOMFIELD • EAST NEWARK • HARRISON • KEARNY • LYNDHURST • NORTH ARLINGTON • NUTLEY
OUT FOR BLOOD
Because of pandemic, drives have been limited and the need for all types is immense By Kevin Canessa kc@theobserver.com
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here’s a huge need for blood. And it’s been very hard to get donations since all small-sized blood drives have been called off because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But that notion could change, hopefully, in the near future. Last week, we spoke with Marie Forrestal, the director of donor recruitment for New Jersey Blood Services, a division of New York Blood Services. Forrestal says everything changed for her organization when social distancing became the norm a few months ago. And it may change blood drives forever as we once knew them. Donations like what is depicted at the right may never be seen again. See BLOOD, Page 16
Unemployment nightmare continues weeks after start of crisis By Kevin Canessa kc@theobserver.com
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he office of this newspaper has received numerous phone calls and emails about residents’ inability
to file for unemployment. To a person, there was frustration. Each was angry. Some, not all, have gone from mid-March to this very day without getting a single penny of income. Some were laid off. Others vol-
untarily left work to remain safe during the worst pandemic in modern times. Unemployment insurance — remember, this is not a government entitlement ... most contribute to the fund each week — was supposed to
be a saving grace to anyone who lost a job, through no fault of their own, because of the Coronavirus. In fact, the feds even passed a bill that would give the unemployed an See UNEMPLOYED, Page 17
IMPORTANT COVID-19 INFORMATION FOR Hudson, Bergen & Essex counties Hudson County Testing Center: Hudson Regional Hospital, Secaucus. By appointment only. Pre-screening required. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Call (201) 388-1097 or (646) 862-1161. Essex County Testing Center: Weequahic Park, Newark. By appointment only. Pre-screening required. Call (973) 324-9950 to schedule appointments or for hours/days of operation. Bergen County Testing Center: Bergen Community College, Lots B & C, Paramus. Must be NJ resident & symptomatic. 500 tests per day. Asymptomatic patients will not be tested. More information may be found at www.theobserver.com.