COVID-19 cases are on the rise again in Jersey City as the peak of the holiday season approaches, but city and state officials are holding off new, stricter mandates to curb the spread.
Jersey City reported 90 new cases on Dec. 2, the most in a single day since April. The city averaged 78 cases a day over the first five days of the month. Just one week before that, on Nov. 28, the city reported less than half of that number: 39 new cases. On Nov. 1, there were just 12 new cases.
The trend suggests Jersey City might be seeing a repeat of late last year, when increased travel for the holiday season were cited as the reason for a steep incline in the daily case rate, topping out at 267 new cases reported on Jan. 6.
For now, though, measures like a general vaccine mandate or for proof of vaccination for indoor activities are not on the table.
When asked if Jersey City has any new plans to fight the spike in cases, officials deferred to the guidelines provided by the state of New Jersey.
“The administration is closely following all state protocols as the Governor’s Office asked us to follow the state guidelines earlier in the pandemic in order to avoid a patchwork of different rules across New Jersey,” said city spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione.
And the city council has not presented a plan of action, either. Joyce Watterman, president of the Jersey City Council, said there have been not discussions related to the recent uptick in cases. She did not rule out new measures if cases continue to rise. The city “has to enforce what we have in place now,” she said.
In Manhattan, Mayor Bill DeBlasio this week announced that everyone working in person in the city will have to have at least one vaccine shot by Dec. 27. Additionally, everyone over the age of 12 has to show proof of vaccination to enter indoor dining areas and bars, gyms, movie theaters, and most other indoor public spaces in Manhattan.
Some in Jersey City have criticized the mayor’s administration for not taking action similar to New York City.
“Honestly, Fulop and Murphy share a huge chunk of the blame for not instituting an indoor vaccine mandate the way that NYC did,” one social media user wrote on Tuesday.
Wallace-Scalcione said Jersey City is “is ramping up education and outreach efforts to increase compliance and address mixed messaging surrounding vaccines and boosters to encourage more people to get vaccinated, especially within our schools citywide.”
Jersey City public schools have seen a steady increase month over month in their case rate. In September, 60 students and 16 in-person staff were reported positive for COVID. In November, those figures rose to 97 and 28, respectively.
In the past, Jersey City prided itself on being ahead of the curve when it came to COVID-19 precautions.
In March 2020, Mayor Steve Fulop issued an executive order putting a 10 p.m. curfew on businesses with liquor licenses to reduce the spread of COVID in large crowds – before there were even any confirmed cases in the city.
The coronavirus case numbers are lower this year than last year, even if the trend line looks similar. And since many residents are vaccinated now, the death rate is much lower than last year. Three Jersey City residents have died of COVID since the beginning of November; 18 died over the course of last November.
And at the state level, the uptick in cases over the last month or so looks similar to what it looks like in Jersey City.
In New Jersey, “all workers in preschool to Grade 12 schools, all workers in certain health care facilities and high-risk congregate settings, all workers at state agencies, authorities, and colleges and universities and all child care workers will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or be subject to COVID-19 testing at minimum one to two times per week,” according to the state’s guidance.
Masks are still required in schools, health care settings, public transportation, childcare locations, correctional facilities and homeless shelters, but in other areas merely recommended. Businesses can require masks.