Maplewood Announces A New Coronavirus Death

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Maplewood Mayor Frank McGehee announced on Monday that over the weekend, the town lost a 76-year-old resident to coronavirus. The passing brought the town's confirmed death toll to 27 since the beginning of the pandemic.

"Our prayers are with the family," McGehee said.

The Maplewood Public Health Division announced new local numbers for the week of July 27 through this past Sunday:

• Total Deaths: 27 (+1 )
• Total Cases: 339 (+8 new cases, ages: 17-54)
• Total recovered cases: 271 (+2)

Essex County, which has the most deaths from coronavirus of any county statewide, announced this week that it had passed 1,850 deaths.

For local coronavirus questions, call Maplewood's Public Health Division at (973) 762-8120 or visit the Maplewood COVID-19 website: https://www.twp.maplewood.nj.us/covid19.

Young people and coronavirus

McGehee said Monday, "Young adults, please understand the importance of following the isolation and quarantine directions provided by our public health division and stay home if you are sick!"

In July, New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith Perischilli said that the state was becoming more concerned about young people getting coronavirus and spreading it to others who are vulnerable, and cited house parties at nearby Westfield.

Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday cited an increase in transmission in the state, particularly linked to recent indoor parties. He then announced a new limit on house parties to 25 people or 25 percent room capacity, whichever is smaller. He said the transmission rate of 1.48 was now close to the rate seen in early April, a time when the death rate was high.

Specific large house parties in the last few weeks were linked to cases in dozens of people, Murphy noted.

While most people under 18 in the United States have avoided severe symptoms from the virus, they can transmit it to teachers, parents, and others. A large-scale study in South Korea, quoted widely last week in American media outlets from the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal, suggested that teens spread the virus at the same rate as adults, and more easily than younger children.

The CDC also confirmed a large outbreak at a camp in Georgia in a press conference Friday.

See the updates below for the school reopening plan.

Emergency Food Distribution and more information

McGehee also announced that Thursday at 9 a.m., the town would give away boxes of food to those in need at 9 a.m. The location is St. Matthew AME Church, 336 Oakwood Ave., Orange, NJ, rain or shine.

He noted: "Residents ARE REQUIRED to wear face coverings and practice social distancing. 1,000 boxes will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. People may arrive starting at 8 a.m. Walk ups are welcome."

State statistics

At the peak of the virus in New Jersey, on April 30, 460 people were recorded as passing away in 24 hours, or one person every three minutes. Average deaths reported each day have declined since then, generally hovering between 20 and 45 in July.

On Monday, Gov. Murphy said that 356 people are currently hospitalized statewide with the virus, including a child under 18, as well as another 382 hospitalizations being investigated as possible cases. Of the confirmed hospitalizations, 144 people are in intensive care and 49 are on ventilators.

A total of 13,971 New Jersey residents have now died as a result of the virus, and 182,350 cases have been confirmed.

Coronavirus levels are increasing in many states that reopened earlier than New Jersey (see the daily increases in each state here). States around the country have had to pull back on their reopenings, including Texas, which closed bars and which in summer began seeing a record number of hospitalizations and deaths.

Earlier this month, Gov. Phil Murphy ordered residents to wear masks. He also has asked for residents to quarantine after coming from 34 states that are seeing spikes.

Here are some other Maplewood coronavirus and reopening updates:

TESTING

Go to www.essexcovid.org to register for a test or find out about local mobile testing, or call your physician.

SCHOOLS

• Schools in the district will open on Sept. 7 and 8, according to grade level.
• The South Orange-Maplewood District said their reopening plan is a work in progress, but will offer two options: All-virtual (which all districts in New Jersey are required to offer as an option) or a hybrid of in-person and virtual learning that allows students in be in the buildings twice a week. There are different options for special education. Click here to read more.
• Some Essex County teachers' unions, including in Maplewood and Millburn and the state teachers' union, have said they believe learning should stay remote for now. But working parents, parents of special needs children, and others have argued that they need aspects of on-site learning.
• One New Jersey district, Old Bridge, offered in-person learning only four hours per week and the rest remote, or all remote. Other districts, like Hoboken, have offered a choice of either full-day instruction in person or full-day remote. Several nearby districts have preferred "hybrid" plans blending distance and in-person learning. In the currently proposed plan in Cranford, elementary students will go to school every weekday, with single-session days and no lunch. Middle school students will attend every other day, and high school students will go two to three days per week, alternating. Remote learning sessions will fill in the gaps.
• Gov. Phil Murphy's administration released its broad school reopening guidelines to the districts late last month.

LOCAL BUSINESS/JOBS

• Outdoor dining reopened across the state on June 15, with precautions.
• Hair salons and other personal care businesses were able to reopen June 22. State rules can be found here.
• Read more about unemployment, small business, and other coronavirus regulations and benefits in New Jersey here.
• Turtleback Zoo has job opportunities in guest relations, paddle boats, Treetop Adventure, parking and maintenance, must be 18 years of age. Please visit the link for a list of available jobs and how to apply: https://buff.ly/2QWodaV

HOSPITALS/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.
• There is now a state website with numbers for people at individual nursing homes.
• You can report immediate issues with long term care facilities here, or if you suspect coronavirus related misconduct that should be reported to the Attorney General, here.
• Some long-term care facilities have begun allowing socially distanced visits.
• Local hospitals updated their visitor guidelines recently. Read more here.

GIVING AND GETTING HELP

• To find out about help for the needy and seniors, or get food or food bank information, visit your town's website. See information about emergency food distribution above.

Here are additional 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

What do you think? Comment below.

Got news? Email caren.lissner@patch.com. Don't miss Maplewood and statewide news alerts when they are announced. Sign up for free Patch breaking news alerts and daily newsletters.