Chatham’s COVID Case Increase Shutters Borough Hall To Public

CHATHAM, NJ — The Borough of Chatham has decided to restrict the public’s access to Borough Hall, because of the statewide and Borough-wide rises in COVID cases.

“Borough Hall is currently closed to the public,” was a message on the municipality's website, as well as a tweet on Jan. 3, attributing it to the “uptick in positive Covid-19 cases in the Borough and in NJ.”

Borough Hall is currently closed to the public. Due to the uptick in positive Covid-19 cases: residents can communicate with employees via the phone and extension list located in the vestibule. Mail and permit applications can be left in the drop boxes on the table.
— Chatham Borough (@ChathamBorough) January 3, 2022

Residents are able to call employees during regular business hours, with the front and north doors locked until further notice. Employee phone numbers and extensions are posted in Borough Hall’s vestibule.

There are additionally boxes on the table at Borough Hall, where mail and permit applications may be left.

Click here to see the message on the borough’s website and for more information.

According to the County of Morris dashboard, as of Dec. 30, the last date numbers were reported, Chatham Borough has had 949 total positive COVID cases since the pandemic started in March 2020, with the township’s tally 1,204. On Dec. 21, the Borough had a 707 cumulative case count and the township, 932.

The state’s most recent COVID-19 Activity Report from week-ending Dec. 25 has Morris County in a “red zone” with a “very high” designation for the Northwest region, which includes Morris, Sussex, Passaic and Warren Counties combined.

The state is placed at a “4” COVID-19 Activity Level Index or “CALI,” which is considered a “very high” score, with the county at the same level. As of that date, the Northwest Region was at a 139.89 case rate per 100,000 and at a 12.68 percent COVID-19 Activity Level over a seven-day period. During a seven-day period, the positivity rate for tests was 21.30 percent in the Northwest.

As compared to other regions statewide, the Northwest region has the second highest case rate, with the Northeast - comprised of Bergen, Essex and Hudson Counties - at 188.21 and the Southeast's Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland Counties the lowest at 67.87. The Northwest placed third highest in the COVID-19 Activity Level with the Central East or Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Union Counties the highest at 18.55 percent. The region was additionally the third highest in positivity percentages, with the Northeast at 23.42.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a local news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.