Two More Hoboken Residents Pass Away From Coronavirus

HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla said Wednesday that two more Hoboken residents have been confirmed to have died of coronavirus since the last town update a week ago, bringing total fatalities in town to 37. He also attempted to clarify who will receive the vaccines first, but said that many places are behind in vaccinating.

He also noted that Hoboken University Medical Center is currently treating 29 COVID-19 patients, including 10 Hoboken residents.

"Unfortunately, benchmarks initially established by the federal government and health experts have not been hit, as new COVID-19 infections have at times outpaced total vaccinations across the country," he wrote. "My hope is that as we continue along the vaccination process, vaccines will flow at a much faster rate from the federal government to states, and then to counties and cities like Hoboken."

People will be vaccinated in the following order. (Bhalla said the state will determine when local governments can move from the current phase of vaccinating 1A residents — health workers and nursing home residents — to the next phases.)

Order of vaccinations

• 1A: Paid and unpaid persons serving in health care settings who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials, and long-term care/nursing home staff and resiidents
• 1B: Frontline essential workers and individuals over 75
• 1C: Other essential workers, adults 65-74, and persons aged 16-64 with medical conditions that increase the risk for severe COVID-19.

"On a conference call yesterday, the state indicated that the various populations in each category could be adjusted and modified in the coming weeks," Bhalla said.

Gov. Phil Murphy reportedly had said on Tuesday that he hopes to start vaccinations for everyone else by Memorial Day.

Hoboken statistics and fatalities

Bhalla said that the Hoboken Health Department has reported that this number of positive COVID-19 tests were confirmed on these days:

• Dec. 29: 16
• Dec. 30: 16
• Dec. 31: 36
• Jan. 1: 16
• Jan. 2: 5
• Jan. 3: 14
• Jan. 4: 7
• Jan. 5 (Tuesday): 32

It's possible for people to not test positive until 5-7 days after exposure.

Bhalla said that since the beginning of the pandemic, 2,082 residents have tested positive. That means that for all of 2020, the total would be 2,008 positive test results (subtracting those confirmed in 2021).

Hoboken has 53,000 residents located in one square mile across the river from Manhattan.

Regarding the fatalities, Bhalla said, "Sadly, we lost two additional members of our Hoboken community, a female in her mid 80s and another female in her late 80s. I extend my best wishes and deepest sympathies to their family members and loved ones during this extraordinarily difficult time."

If you are a healthcare worker falling into the 1A category, you can visit http://www.hobokennj.gov/vaccine1A to register to receive the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from Riverside. Once registered, staff from Riverside Medical Group staff will call to schedule an appointment. You can also go to the Hudson County site, HCvax@hudsonregionalhealth.org.

The city is formulating a plan to help seniors who may not be able to get to the sites, Bhalla said.

State and national trends

The state is currently in the second wave of the virus.

Just before Christmas, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said that there were 111 fatalities among residents from Tuesday to Wednesday, the highest one-day toll since July. The state also marked a seven-month record-high in terms of total coronavirus hospitalizations, with 3,841 new hospitalizations (3,612 who had tested positive and 279 who were awaiting their test results).

A total of 765 patients were in ICU beds and 485 patients were on ventilators.

On Dec. 22, 426 patients were discharged from hospitals, and 498 new patients were admitted.

As of Tuesday, 355,000 Americans had died of the virus. (You can see which states had the highest death toll in the past week on this CDC map.)

NATIONAL TRENDS

• Use this link to see the updated fatality count in the United States.
• 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.

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.

LONG-TERM CARE

• Recently, there were 159 long term care facilities with active outbreaks, the state Department of Health said last month. The state announced that deaths at the facilities had more than doubled since May 1.
• New Jersey residents became 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.
• The state released death toll statistics 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.
• Some facilities will receive the coronavirus vaccine in December and January, starting with a long-term care home in Old Bridge in December.

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. Got photos? Please include express written permission from the photographer for us to use them.

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