Another Westfield Resident Passes Away Due To Coronavirus

WESTFIELD, NJ – Westfield Mayor Shelley Brindle reported in a coronavirus update on Friday that an 81-year-old male Westfield resident passed away due to coronavirus last week, bringing Westfield’s total number of COVID deaths to 52.

Two other resident fatalities were announced at the beginning of the month.

As of Thursday, Brindle noted, the Department of Health reported 68 new cases since the week before, in these age ranges:

• Age 9 and under: 2 cases
• Age 10-19: 18 cases
• Age 20-29: 12 cases
• Age 30-39: 8 cases
• Age 40-49: 8 cases
• Age 50-59: 10 cases
• Age 60-69: 4 cases
• ge 70-79: 3 cases
• Age 80-89: 1 case
• Age 90 and above: 1 case
• Age unconfirmed: 1 case

"In more encouraging news," she wrote, "Regional Health Officer Megan Avallone reports that this week, for the first time in months, the entire state has not been categorized as an area of high activity. In fact, Westfield is now showing moderate activity, with the most highly impacted age group remaining between 10 and 19 this week, representing 26 percent of the newly reported cases."

Brindle said, "The state’s seven-day average for new confirmed cases is up 2 percent from a week ago, but down 39 percent from a month ago, and New Jersey’s COVID-related hospitalizations are now at their lowest level since Dec. 5."

Brindle also provided some new vaccine news:

• The closest CVS locations to carry vaccines are in Chatham Borough and Union Township. RiteAid also began taking vaccination appointments Friday morning for 70 locations across the state through its online portal. (Here is Patch's story about CVS in Union County from last week.)
• In addition to the existing vaccination sites, the state will be launching the first of its community-based vaccination sites, to be strategically placed in socioeconomically challenged communities disproportionately impacted by COVID. This program will begin this week with Franklin Township, Trenton, and Elizabeth, with Vineland and Paterson in line to quickly follow.

See links to some other Union County locations, including the new Summit site, in this Patch story.

Other news

• For the latest CDC recommendations about how to wear masks, and the benefits of a cloth plus surgical mask, click here.
• As of Presidents Day, more than 486,000 Americans had died of the virus. (You can see which states had the highest death toll in the past week on this CDC map.)
• Here is a link to see the updated list of people eligible for a vaccine in New Jersey.

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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

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