NJ Recommends Self Quarantine For NY Temple Visitors

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ - After a congregant at a Westchester County temple was diagnosed with coronavirus, New Jersey health officials are asking that anyone who visited the house of worship place themselves under a self quarantine until Sunday.

Judith Persichilli, state health commissioner, said the recommendation applies to anyone who attended services or other events at Temple Youth Israel in New Rochelle on Feb. 22 or 23.

In a press release, Persichilli said their recommendation is based on a public health assessment and guidance issued by the Westchester County Health Department Tuesday and is based upon a case of COVID-19 in a person who attended this temple.

“While the risk to any given individual is likely to be low, we felt it was important to share this guidance for any New Jersey residents who may have attended these services and events,” said Persichilli.

According to a report from ABC7, New York health officials have ordered the temple to stop all services for the foreseeable future because of the man diagnosed with coronavirus. They've also ordered all congregants who went to services on Feb. 22 or events on Feb. 23 to self-quarantine until March 8.

According to the state health department,

• Self-quarantine is used to separate and restrict the movement of people who may have been exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick. A quarantine means that both adults and children, should remain at home during this period. This means they should not go to work, attend school, go shopping or attend religious services or gatherings anywhere and should have no guests, visitors or staff in their homes during this period.
• If individuals are experiencing symptoms, they should call their healthcare provider in advance before visiting.
• The department continues to remind residents to take necessary precautions to protect themselves from all respiratory viruses, such as washing their hands frequently, covering coughs and sneezes, and staying home when sick.

A free, 24/7 hotline is being operated by the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System (NJPIES), also known as the New Jersey Poison Center. The hotline, staffed with trained healthcare professionals, is available at 1-800-222-1222.

The New Jersey Public Health Environmental Laboratories (PHEL) in West Trenton has the ability to test individuals for the novel coronavirus. The Department has learned that it will receive another 500 test kits from the CDC Thursday.

Click here for more information on novel coronavirus.

Globally, at least 85,000 people have been infected and 3,000 people have died from COVID-19, reports say, including nine in Washington. However, despite eight people being tested for the illness in New Jersey and one person being forcibly quarantined, the state hasn't seen a single case of the novel coronavirus, officials have said.

Most New Jersey residents remain at low risk for the coronavirus, the state Department of Health said. And if anyone is having symptoms, the illness is much more likely to be caused by common respiratory viruses such as flu or the common cold, officials said.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Residents who have questions about the virus can contact the State of New Jersey's hotline at 1 (800) 222-1222. The hotline is home of the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System, and is staffed 24 hours a day by state health workers.

This article contains reporting by the Patch national desk