Hoboken Hits One-Day Coronavirus High, Lists New Testing Options

HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla said Friday that in advance of Thanksgiving, the city has partnered with several local pharmacies and firms to make more coronavirus testing available.

He also said 32 new cases were reported in the mile-square city on Thursday — the highest one-day increase in the city of 53,000 people since the beginning of the pandemic.

Bhalla said that the mile-square city has had 1,264 confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic. Of those, he said, 1,047 residents were confirmed by the Hoboken Health Department as having fully recovered. A total of 31 Hoboken residents have passed away from coronavirus.

Bhalla said that the state of New Jersey reported 4,320 new cases Thursday, along with 34 deaths. Five of the past six days have had over 4,000 cases.

The state's highest one-day fatality rate was 460 residents on April 30, or one fatality every three minutes. Doctors have said that a number of factors are contributing to the drop in the New Jersey daily death rate since spring, including people getting test results (and thus treatment) sooner, more protective equipment available in hospitals, and doctors becoming better able to treat the virus. However, the virus still can have long-term effects.

Updated testing options in Hoboken

Bhalla said the city has entered into partnerships with two additional organizations, Medicine Man Pharmacy and ivee, for COVID-19 testing through at least this coming Wednesday.

Testing options:

• Medicine Man Pharmacy: On Sunday, 125 COVID-19 tests will be offered through the City’s partnership with Medicine Man Pharmacy at 605 Jackson St. for Hoboken residents between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Medicine Man Pharmacy offers rapid testing (BD Veritor Plus Antigen test), which will be emailed within 3-6 hours of testing. To sign-up for testing, visit http://www.hobokennj.gov/medicineman.
• ivee: On Tuesday, over 275 COVID-19 tests will be offered through the City’s partnership with ivee at the Multi-Service Center (124 Grand St.) for Hoboken residents between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Ivee offers PCR testing, and results will be emailed within 24-48 hours. To sign-up for testing, visit http://www.hobokennj.gov/ivee.
• Appointments will also become available for an additional 125 rapid tests on Wednesday, at Medicine Man between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., in the coming days.
• Prompt MD: In addition to new testing dates Friday, Nov. 20 and this Tuesday, Prompt MD will be adding additional testing hours at 605 Jackson Street on Tuesday afternoon until 3 p.m. Prompt MD offers PCR testing. To sign-up for testing, visit http://www.hobokennj.gov/promptmd. Prompt MD previously added testing this upcoming Friday and Tuesday, in addition to existing testing dates on Mondays and Thursdays.
• Riverside Medical Group: Testing appointments are currently full at Riverside Medical on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. Appointments are normally available at http://www.hobokennj.gov/riverside.

Testing through Medicine Man Pharmacy, ivee and Riverside Medical Group is provided for Hoboken residents only, with proof of residency required at the time of testing.

Testing through Prompt MD is provided for both Hoboken residents and business employees, with proof of residency or employment at a Hoboken establishment required at the time of testing. Prompt MD and ivee will make every effort to work with the laboratories to secure COVID-19 results by Thursday morning, however results could potentially take longer.

"I’m greatly appreciative to Medicine Man owner Pete Sutaria, and ivee CEO LJ Troilo for working with us to expand testing options in advance of the Thanksgiving holiday," he said, "as well as Dr. Islam from Prompt MD and Dr. Brahmbhatt from Riverside Medical for adding testing options to their existing operations."

Due to the recently observed high cancellation rate, any resident who wishes to cancel or reschedule an appointment must do so at least 24 hours in advance. Those who do not show up for a scheduled appointment will not be permitted to book a future COVID-19 test.

Give your digits to Hoboken bars, gyms

As of Friday, businesses in the mile-square city including restaurants, bars, gyms, wellness establishments, fitness studios, salons, and health clubs, will be required to record contact information and time of arrival of customers. Information collected by the business will only be shared with the Hoboken Health Department in the event of a positive COVID-19 case, and will only be utilized for contact tracing purposes.

Other Hoboken updates

• On Wednesday, the mayor said Hoboken University Medical Center has 14 coronavirus patients, including six Hoboken residents. This a change from last week, when the mayor said 17 people were fighting the virus at the hospital, including six Hoboken residents.
• The Hoboken public schools will temporarily go remote for the week after Thanksgiving vacation.
• One grade at the middle school, and a section of another grade, went remote temporarily as of this week; see this story for more information.
• Hoboken was one of the first cities in the region to begin closing facilities when the virus began spreading in the U.S.
• In June, after months of closures and isolation, the city went a week with only one case, and in August, there were only six cases in one week. But cases began rising in autumn with more gatherings.

Here is more information on Hoboken coronavirus testing, statistics, schools, and more:

CORONAVIRUS TESTING IN HOBOKEN

• Prompt MD has added additional testing. Proof of residency or employment at a Hoboken business is required at the time of testing. Results are anticipated within 24-48 hours of testing. http://www.hobokennj.gov/promptmd.
• Riverside Medical is also continuing testing for Hoboken residents at the pop-up site under the 14th Street Viaduct six days a week. Appointments can be scheduled on a first-come, first-serve basis by visiting http://www.hobokennj.gov/riverside. If a resident has signed up for a test with Riverside but can no longer make it, please call 201-863-3346 to cancel the appointment.
• A covid-19 test is recommended at least 5-7 days after a potential exposure, and that many who have contracted the virus do not have symptoms. Receiving a COVID-19 test prior to the 5-7 days after a potential exposure may yield inaccurate results.
• If returning from a state on New Jersey's quarantine list or have had a high-risk exposure, which includes contact of over 10 minutes to someone who has tested positive, living in the same household as someone with COVID-19 or attending a large indoor gathering without face masks, residents should self-quarantine for the full 14 days, even with a negative test result, the city says.

HOBOKEN SCHOOLS

• The schools will go remote for one week after Thanksgiving break. Also, the eighth grade at Hoboken Middle School has temporarily gone remote. Read more here.
• Hoboken's Wallace Primary School recently closed temporarily after two student cases were confirmed.
• Mayor Bhalla wrote two weeks ago, "Our Health Department has confirmed that our schools are taking every possible safety measure to keep our children safe, and that there is little evidence that the schools themselves are the reason for covid-19 spread, as opposed to behavior outside the school."
• Recently, one of the city's charter schools, Elysian Charter, closed temporarily because a student tested positive for the virus.
• The Hoboken public schools started the 2020-2021 school year Monday, Sept. 14 remotely, and reopened on-site Sept. 21 for those who requested it.
• The district offered a reopening plan giving parents a choice of either full-time on-site learning (until 3 p.m.) or full-time distance learning. In the buildings, there are restrictions, such as kids wearing masks and maintaining a 6-foot distance.

LOCAL BUSINESS

• As of Friday, Nov. 20, people must give contact information to bars, restaurants, gyms, and certain other businesses when they stay inside, for contract tracing purposes. READ MORE.
• 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.
• The city of Hoboken is making it easier for restaurants to continue to offer outdoor dining through the winter months.
• Two of the city's weekly farmers' markets reopened in June. READ MORE.
• The city has been closing off certain blocks for businesses to expand and draw foot traffic. READ MORE.
• Restaurants in New Jersey can allow indoor dining at 25 percent capacity, and keep serving indoors until 10 p.m. Read more about Hoboken indoor dining here.

HOBOKEN LIBRARY

• See story here.

HOW TO GET HELP WITH HEAT, RENT, AND MORE

• During the State of Emergency in New Jersey, no tenant is permitted to be evicted from their home or apartment for the inability to pay rent. Talk to your local mayor's office if you are experiencing difficulties.
• The CARES act has made money available to help with rent in each city. More information is here.
• New Jersey residents can get help with heating and energy bills. Information is here.
• Various other avenues of relief and benefits have also been made available, including family leave for 12 weeks if you can't work due to your child's school or camp being closed, and changes to unemployment rules to help those who were at a job for a short time, or freelancing.
• Programs are being added constantly, so don't think you can't get help. Reach out to your local mayor's office to find out what kind of funds may be available to help you get through this time.

LONG-TERM CARE

• Recently, there were 159 long term care facilities with active outbreaks, the state Department of Health said this month. The state also announced that deaths at the facilities had more than doubled since May 1. The state has stopped updating the numbers at facilities without current outbreaks.
• New Jersey residents were already alarmed at the high number of residents who have passed away in nursing homes, rehabs, and similar facilities. The state announced plans in May to increase testing at some long term care facilities and to bring in the National Guard temporarily to help make changes.
• The state released death toll statistics late in spring 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 New Jersey long-term care facilities reopened for limited visits, with precautions, in July.

PAST LOCAL AND NATIONAL STATISTICS

• Bhalla had said on Tuesday, Oct. 20, that 22 Hoboken residents had been confirmed as testing positive for coronavirus in a four-day period from Friday to Monday inclusive, for a total of 890 cases in residents since the start of the pandemic. Bhalla said that cases were rising again partly due to indoor social gatherings.
• More than 235,000 Americans and 14,500 people in New Jersey have died from the virus.###/li460 people passed away in 24 hours.

• More than 900 health care workers have died of the virus nationally. Others are simultaneously fighting misinformation and hoaxes as they try to fight the virus.

• Mayor Bhalla recent cautioned residents about indoor birthday parties and traveling to Ocean and Monmouth counties. Story here.
• For an earlier story about Hoboken coronavirus statistics and updates, click here.
• See earlier data here.
• Here are past statistics on Hoboken residents under 16 testing positive for the virus.

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 Caren.Lissner@patch.com. Want to be the first to get news alerts with breaking stories in Hoboken, or to get a free local newsletter each morning? Sign up for Patch breaking news alerts or daily newsletters.