More Than Half Of Hoboken Coronavirus Cases Are Under 40: City

HOBOKEN, NJ — In a coronavirus update on Saturday afternoon, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla said the Health Department reported four cases of coronavirus among residents on Friday and one new case Thursday, bringing the total of confirmed cases among residents since the start of the pandemic to 645.

This past Tuesday, Bhalla had noted 12 new cases since Friday, bringing the city’s total that day to 634. That means there have been 11 new cases since the Tuesday update, for a total of 23 from last Friday to this Saturday.

The number of fatalities has remained unchanged at 29, with no new residents passing away from the virus since May.

Hoboken and several other cities in New Jersey experienced a week in June in which they had only one or no cases, before facilities started reopening and people traveled more.

The city also gave some statistics to break down the cases:

  • 376 of the 645 have “fully recovered.”

  • 51 percent of the cases are people under 40.

  • 7 residents under 16 have tested positive.

The mayor encouraged people to avoid “large gatherings or parties of any kind.”

He said, “Your actions affect more than just you,” noting that a person working at a restaurant could attend a party and “the entire restaurant could be forced to quarantine for 14 days by the health department due to other employees and customers being exposed.”

Bhalla said that staff from City Hall handed out more than 200 face masks on the upper waterfront near Pier 13 Friday night.

He also said the city is holding a blood drive on Wednesday. For more information, go here.

The mayor also gave updates on businesses, “slow streets” (several lengths of Jefferson and Fifth streets this weekend), the library, and yoga and pilates studios. For more of the mayor’s updates click here.

See below for how to get tested and other recent Hoboken coronavirus updates:

Recent updates:

TESTING

  • To get a rapid, 15-minute test through the city’s partnership with Riverside Medical, call the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) at 201-420-5621 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. If you don’t have health insurance, the city will pay the cost.

  • There are other medical offices in Hoboken with coronavirus and antibody tests; if in doubt about what to do, call your physician, then check with your insurance. Many insurances are waiving fees and copays for these tests.

SCHOOLS

  • The Hoboken public schools are slated to reopen Tuesday, Sept. 8, but whether it will be in person will be determined by the state. The state is presently considering in-person schooling, virtual schooling, and a “blended option” involving both. There will be restrictions, such as kids wearing masks and maintaining a 6-foot distance. Superintendent Christine Johnson gave information about the local planning process recently.

  • The governor’s school reopening guidance was published on June 26.

  • The summer camp run by the Hoboken schools has been canceled. Limited recreational options have been scheduled. The mayor made reference to them here.

  • Day cares were able to reopen June 15, with certain rules in place, and recreational camps can reopen in July. READ MORE.

BUSINESS

  • Hoboken recently received almost $1.9 million in funding for small businesses, to be distributed in $20,000 grants. Read more here.

  • More than 50 of the city’s restaurants opened the week of June 15 for outdoor dining. READ MORE.

  • Some of those have added “streateries” for outdoor dining. READ MORE.

  • Kings supermarkets updated residents on their sanitizing procedures and on an employee who tested positive last month. READ MORE.

  • Two of the city’s weekly farmers’ markets reopened in June. READ MORE.

  • The city and Patch both have directories of businesses that are open and closed. Check them out and add your listing. READ MORE.

  • The city will be closing off certain blocks for businesses to expand and draw foot traffic. READ MORE.

  • Here’s what you need to know about applying for unemployment and other benefits during coronavirus. MORE.

  • Read more about unemployment, small business, and other coronavirus regulations and benefits in New Jersey here.

  • States around the country have had to pull back on their reopenings, such as Texas, which closed bars and has seen a record number of hospitalizations and deaths.

LIBRARY

  • Residents can return library books and other materials by placing them in the library book/media dropbox in front of the library (500 Park Ave.) from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. The library will begin no contact “curbside pickup” service. Library patrons will be able to reserve the materials online, place their orders via email to [email protected], or call (201) 4202346, ext. 5102. For additional details, visit hobokenlibrary.org.

  • For a new update, see the mayor’s latest Nixle alert for July 18, linked above.

PARKS

GYMS

  • Bhalla said recently, “According to Governor Murphy, the following activities are permitted at indoor gyms starting July 2, as provided by his office: ‘individualized indoor instruction by appointment only where an instructor is offering training to an individual, and the individual’s immediate family members, household members, caretakers, or romantic partners. If a gym or fitness center is offering multiple simultaneous instructions at the same facility, these instructions must take place in separate rooms or, if they take place in the same room, must be separated by a floor-to-ceiling barrier that complies with all fire code requirements.’ “

NURSING HOMES

  • New Jersey residents have become alarmed at the high number of residents who have passed away in nursing homes, rehabs, and similar facilities, and have charged that the facilities are undercounting the numbers and not adequately protecting residents and staff. The state has faced questions for weeks from the press about how they will address the problems. They announced plans last month to increase testing at some long term care facilities and to bring in the National Guard to help make changes.

  • The state has begun releasing death toll statistics for long-term care facilities like rehabs and nursing homes. See the list here.

  • You can report problems with long term care facilities here, or if you suspect coronavirus related misconduct, here.

  • Some nursing homes reopened for limited visits, with precautions, in July.

Here are statewide coronavirus resources:

  • NJ COVID-19 Information Hub: https://covid19.nj.gov/

  • General COVID-19 questions: 2-1-1

  • NJ COVID-19 hotline: (800) 222-1222

Got news? Email [email protected]. To keep up with breaking news in Hoboken as soon as it happens, or to get a free local newsletter each morning, sign up for Patch breaking news alerts and daily newsletters.

This article originally appeared on the Hoboken Patch

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