Basking Ridge COVID Updates: New Services To Help Get Vaccinated

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Here are the latest coronavirus updates around Basking Ridge.

Updates include the Bernards Township Health Department adding a position to help those with the greatest need find a vaccine appointment. Somerset County also began efforts to inoculate homebound residents (see more on both under "recent updates.")

Cases and Vaccinations

Somerset County officials reported 44 new cases and no new COVID-19 deaths in Bernards Township from March 30 to Monday. Health officials have logged 1,340 infections and 47 deaths from the virus in the township since the pandemic began.

Countywide, officials have reported 21,750 cases and 704 COVID-19 deaths.

The Bernards Township School District updates its COVID-19 dashboard daily.

The New Jersey Department of Health has logged 196,901 vaccine doses administered in Somerset County — an increase of about 54,000 since Basking Ridge Patch's last update March 22.

Overall, New Jersey has tallied 4.79 million vaccine doses administered as of Tuesday afternoon. About 1.8 people have been fully vaccinated, according to the state health department. The Garden State must fully inoculate 4.7 million people by the end of June to meet its six-month goal of vaccinating 70 percent of the state's adults.

Recent Updates

• As coronavirus cases and hospitalizations rise in New Jersey, the
  Bernards Township Health Department reiterated a simple message: don't let your guard down. Additionally, the department hired a vulnerable populations outreach coordinator, who will identify the most at-need residents and help connect them with vaccine appointments. MORE.
• The local health department also scheduled COVID-19 testing for Thursday at the Borough of Peapack and Gladstone Municipal building. More.
• Additionally, the department hired a vulnerable populations outreach coordinator, who will identify the most at-need residents and help connect them with vaccine appointments. To place a resident on the Homebound or Senior Citizen waiting lists, call the County COVID Hotline at 908-231-7155 or use the webform at co.somerset.nj.us/covidQs. Find more info here.

Here's what else you should know:

• New Jersey's strategy to curb the spread of coronavirus last year was
  ranked among the least effective in the nation, according to a new analysis by UC Berkeley's Othering & Belonging Institute. MORE.
• The state will open COVID-19 vaccinations to everyone 16 and older starting April 19. Gov. Phil Murphy's announcement came as the state expanded its list to people 55 and up, in addition to several other groups. MORE.
• In a breakthrough that will give better insight into how and where
  COVID-19 variants are spreading within New Jersey, Atlantic Health System is among the first hospitals in the region to be able to rapidly screen for key viral variants, according to officials. MORE.

Thanks for reading. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Have a news tip you'd like to share? Or maybe you have a press release you would like to submit or a correction you'd like to request? Send an email to josh.bakan@patch.com.

Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter. You can also have them delivered to your phone screen by downloading, or by visiting the Google Play store. You can also follow the Basking Ridge Patch Facebook page.