Two More Westfield Residents Pass Away From Coronavirus

WESTFIELD, NJ — Westfield Mayor Shelley Brindle said Tuesday that two more Westfield residents have been confirmed to have died of coronavirus since the last town update a week ago, bringing total fatalities in town to 47.

"On Jan. 19, we plan to honor those we lost to COVID-19 as part of a broader, nationwide moment of remembrance," she wrote in her update. "As we are unable to name those lost to COVID without permission, we would like to make the opportunity available to anyone wishing to have a family member recognized who was part of the 47 beloved lives lost in Westfield.

"Please email us to have the name of your loved one included in our remembrance ceremony. I am in the process of coordinating with the local ministerium on the details of this small service, which will be live streamed for the public."

Brindle said that for the month of December, the Department of Health reported 333 new cases of COVID-19 in Westfield. (See last week's numbers here.)

Age breakdown of December cases:

• Age 9 and under: 24 cases
• Age 10-19: 46 cases
• Age 20-29: 60 cases
• Age 30-39: 40 cases
• Age 40-49: 45 cases
• Age 50-59: 59 cases
• Age 60-69: 34 cases
• Age 70-79: 12 cases
• Age 80-89: 5 cases
• Age 90 and above: 7 cases
• Age unconfirmed: 1 case

"Of these 333 cases, 74 were received between Dec. 24 and 31," Brindle wrote, "reflecting, once again, a very high number of weekly cases above the levels seen early in the pandemic."

Contact tracing showed that at least two were from holiday gatherings, Brindle said:

• 103 did not know where they were exposed
• 75 had a positive household contact
• 71 were unable to be reached
• 44 had a known exposure
• 13 were exposed at work
• 7 were exposed via youth sports
• 7 were hospitalized (ages 94, 83, 80, 79, 79, 72, and 65)
• 3 refused to be interviewed
• 3 were associated with travel
• 3 were associated with a long-term care facility
• 2 were exposed at college
• 2 were exposed at Thanksgiving gatherings

"Health officials have administered the first doses of two-dose COVID-19 vaccines to approximately 101,417 people as of Monday," Brindle wrote, "and some healthcare workers began to receive their second doses Monday as well. It is anticipated that doses should be available for the general public by April or May."

Gov. Phil Murphy reportedly said Tuesday that he'd like to start vaccinating the general public by Memorial Day.

Those falling into phase 1, including health care workers and people over a certain age, will get the vaccine in phases. See more details below.

Vaccinations planned for Union County: More details

The County of Union announced on Monday that it would begin taking appointments Tuesday at 9 a.m. for those who want to receive coronavirus vaccines, starting with health care workers. The vaccines will be administered starting Thursday.

The county said that eligible health care personnel, as defined by the New Jersey Department of Health, can make an appointment through the County’s registration webpage, http://www.ucnj.org/vaccination. The site will start with "phase 1A" workers, which include doctors, nurses, dentists, EMT's, their office staffs, mortuary workers, and similar workers.

The state is vaccinating residents in phases. The phases are:

Phase 1A- Healthcare workers and long-term care facilities
Phase 1B- Other essential workers
Phase 1C- Adults 65 and over and those with underlying medical conditions
Phase 2- General public

(Also on Monday, Summit Medical Group began vaccinating its patients who work in health care and are 18 and up. Read more: Summit Medical Group Begins Vaccinating Health Workers)

State 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.)

Other Westfield and Union County coronavirus updates

SCHOOLS

• Westfield schools are remote for the week after winter break.
• With 174 students quarantined, Westfield schools previously went remote through Dec. 14.

HOW TO GET TESTED

• Union County has added mobile walk up test sites in addition to the testing site located at Kean University. Testing is free for Union County residents and is by appointment only with no car required; participants must wear masks and observe social distance. Any Union County resident can make an appointment for a test, whether they have symptoms. To pick a location, date and time, and to make an appointment online, visit ucnj.org/coronavirus-update/walk-up.
• Union County residents who need to make an appointment by phone can call 908-518-4307 for assistance. Non-profit organizations and other community groups can call the Union County Office of Emergency Management at 908-654-9881 to request a visit from the Mobile Test Unit.

• To find out more, you can also contact your doctor, visit covid19.nj.gov/testing, or call 211.

WESTFIELD ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT/DINING

• Indoor dining is allowed at 25 percent capacity, ending at 10 p.m. For a list of rules, click here.
• To read about outdoor dining in Westfield, click here.
• Gov. Murphy signed an executive order allowing gyms, health clubs, and indoor amusement facilities to reopen at 25 percent capacity effective Sept. 1. Equipment must be adjusted to allow a minimum of six feet of distance, and must be sanitized between uses. Everyone must wear masks. More details can be found here.

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 longterm 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.

To be the first to get free news alerts with breaking stories in Westfield, or to get a free local newsletter each morning, sign up for Patch breaking news alerts or daily newsletters.