1 Fatality Is Among The Positive COVID Cases In Chatham Since Sept. 1

CHATHAM, NJ — Chatham Borough officials announced late Wednesday night that between Sept. 1 and 9, eight residents have tested positive for COVID, with one resident’s death attributed to the virus.

This brings Chatham Borough’s total case count to 356 for 2021, with 601 positive tests since the pandemic’s start in March 2020.

In the new reporting period with those who tested positive, Chatham Borough’s age range was between three and 86 years, according to the borough's news release. From Sept. 1 to Sept. 9, there were two under the age of 11 or younger; and six who were 21 or older. The mean age of Chatham Borough residents who have tested positive since the pandemic’s beginning is 36, according to the borough’s health officer.

The number of people from Chatham Borough who have been hospitalized since March 2020 is 14; and the death toll is now 11, factoring in the latest fatality.

“Chatham Borough, Mayor Thaddeus Kobylarz and the Borough Council extend their deepest, heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the family during this very sad time,” the news release from the borough expressed. “May God rest this soul as we stand in solidarity again and prayer in mourning this painful loss.”

The announcement with the latest numbers encourages residents to mask up when they feel it’s necessary, wash or sanitize their hands frequently, to disinfect high touch surfaces and stay at home when they don’t feel well.

The borough’s report from Sept. 15 related to the newest positive tests, didn’t indicate whether or not the residents who tested COVID-positive had been vaccinated. However, in a previous news release, borough officials stated that more than half of Chatham Borough residents who tested positive in August among the 37 that month, had received their full COVID vaccination course.

RELATED: Over Half Vaccinated In Chatham Borough's 37 August COVID Cases

At the last council meeting on Sept. 13, Kobylarz shared information that he had gathered over two weeks prior to the meeting from a range of health officials.

“Don’t leave it all up to the vaccines,” Kobylarz told meeting attendees this past Monday night.

In his remarks, he asked Chatham Borough residents, vaccinated or not, to take safeguards during the Delta surge.

He discussed the uptick in “breakthrough” cases during the Delta variant, cases that can emerge among the vaccinated.

Kobylarz cited one expert he’d heard say that people need to "disabuse themselves that vaccines are bulletproof, they are not," that expert having expressed a belief in having no risk post-vaccination as "unrealistic."

The mayor quoted a New England Journal of Medicine study that reported the "COVID vaccine effectiveness is considerably lower against the Delta variant."

Recommendations Kobylarz passed on from the experts he’d heard, about weathering the Delta surge, included masking up in public, avoiding large gatherings and limiting travel.

RELATED: Chatham Mayor Talks COVID Numbers, Vaccines, Breakthrough Cases

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