Mayor Responds To Mask Guidance As COVID Cases Decline In Hoboken

HOBOKEN, NJ — With more people getting vaccinated in Hoboken, including teens, the statistics on new cases have plummeted, according to numbers in Mayor Ravi Bhalla's message over the weekend. The total case number for the last six days is approximately half of that for the last week in April.

The Hoboken Health Department released these numbers on new cases:

• May 3: 0
• May 4: 9
• May 5: 6
• May 6: 11
• May 7: 11
• May 8: 0
• May 9: 5
• May 10: 1
• May 11: 0
• May 12: 5
• May 13: 1
• May 14: 7

Total from the last 6 days: 19

That means the weekly new case rate has been cut in half from a six-day period from the end of April to early May, which was 39 (READ MORE: Hoboken Reports 2 More COVID Deaths; New Cases Start Declining).

• April 27: 12
• April 28: 4
• April 29: 8
• April 30: 12
• May 1: 0
• May 2: 3

Total for 6 days: 39

Four people are fighting the virus right now in Hoboken's hospital, Bhalla said. None are Hoboken residents.

"After over a year with the many hardships our community has faced due to the pandemic, the bright light we’ve all been looking for is now at our doorstep," Bhalla wrote. "I am thankful that a return to a more normal summer is now ahead of us."

However, people are still spreading COVID and battling it in hospitals. In Hudson County, 12 more people passed away from the virus since a week ago Friday.

The CDC advised recently that people are only considered "fully vaccinated" two weeks after their final shot.

Bhalla On Masks

The CDC advised on Thursday that full vaccinated people — meaning two weeks after their final shot — no longer had to wear masks, but included several exceptions: "except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance."

Bhalla wrote, "According to the CDC, the settings where masks still should be worn even by vaccinated individuals, as recommended by the CDC, include mass transportation, hospitals, doctor’s offices, within transportation hubs and stations, congregate settings like homeless shelters, and certain other situations. As of Friday afternoon, the state of New Jersey has adopted the CDC’s guidance on face masks for outdoor settings, where masks no longer need to be worn by those who are fully vaccinated. As a result, we will also adopt this guidance in Hoboken in outdoor public places, including our parks."

As for indoor settings, he noted, the state is reviewing the CDC guidance but for now, "The current rules and regulations that require indoor mask-wearing in businesses (including at restaurants, gyms, salons, retail stores, etc.) remain in place. When the state of New Jersey adopts some or all of the CDC’s guidance on relaxing mask wearing indoors, Hoboken will follow suit."

He added, "I am hopeful that even more residents will choose to get vaccinated in the weeks and months ahead, which could lead to almost all of the restrictions caused by the pandemic to be rescinded by the summer or fall."

Studies have shown that the vaccine is at least 95 percent effective against the virus, and among those who still get it, it will reduce the chance of hospitalization and death.

Find out more about getting vaccinated in Hoboken here: Hoboken To Offer Pfizer Vaccine To Kids 12-15

May 19 reopenings in New Jersey: Restaurants and more

As of May 19, Governor Murphy and the State of New Jersey will be lifting the following capacity and gathering restrictions:

• Complete removal of outdoor gathering limit
• End of percentage-based capacity limits at restaurants, with continued separation of 6 feet of distance between groups, or a physical partition between them.

Read more of the mayor's update here.

State hospitalization and fatality numbers as of Thursday

While the number of new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from the virus as been declining as more people get vaccinated, many are just starting to get vaccinated, including teens. READ MORE: FDA Approves COVID Vaccine For Kids 12+: What It Means In NJ

Statewide, the Department of Health reported that from this past Thursday to Friday, 30 new deaths were confirmed due to the virus. There were 1,041 people battling it in New Jersey hospitals on Wednesday, 162 of those on ventilators.

The state's daily death toll has not yet declined to the level of Sept. 8, when only 2 deaths were reported in one day, after a summer of lockdowns.

On Thursday, Gov. Phil Murphy Tweeted:

For the first time in over six months, our number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 has fallen below 1,000. With our numbers trending in the right direction, we can continue fighting back against this virus if we all get vaccinated. — Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) May 13, 2021

New Jersey's worst day

New Jersey's peak daily death toll on April 30, 2020 was 460 fatalities reported in one day. The state's daily death toll has not yet declined to the level of Sept. 8, when only 2 deaths were reported in one day.

582,000 Americans have died of the virus as of Saturday, 3,000 more than the previous week.

You can see which states had the highest death toll in the past week on this CDC map, and see how each county is doing with this CDC link.

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