The Bergen County Sheriff suspended all evictions Tuesday afternoon as the surging coronavirus continues to spread throughout New Jersey.

Sheriff Anthony Cureton announced the suspension of all evictions by his office until further notice, citing the need to stave off the coronavirus spread. Bergen County, the state’s most populous county, continues to have the most cases of the virus, with at least 61 as of Tuesday morning.

“The safety and security of Bergen County residents is our top priority," said Cureton. “Issuing eviction notices during this heightened public health emergency is counter-productive to the mission of our agency and the goal of mitigating the spread of COVID-19.”

Calls to Cureton were not immediately returned.

Bergen is the latest county to suspend evictions to keep people off the streets, as a response to COVID-19.

Over the weekend, Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura announced the suspension of evictions and foreclosure sales indefinitely, until state and local health officials concluded the health threat had passed. On Sunday, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka announced a moratorium on some recent evictions, in light of the virus spreading to the state’s largest city.

The Burlington County Sheriff’s Office recently filed a complaint in superior court to suspend evictions, saying that to evict residents in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic would only make things worse, Patch.com reported.

The Bergen Sheriff’s Office will shift its focus to helping local police departments, said Cureton.

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Rodrigo Torrejon may be reached at rtorrejon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rodrigotorrejon.

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