Maplewood Has Lost 4 Residents To Coronavirus, Essex County 351

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Maplewood has now lost four residents to coronavirus, Mayor Frank McGehee said in a letter Thursday night. And Essex County has had 371 deaths, according to information released by the county on Friday morning.

Thursday, McGehee said, "We are very saddened to announce yet another loss of a member of our community today due to the coronavirus COVID-19. The individual was 95 years old. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the families who have lost loved ones in Maplewood and South Orange. Many throughout our two towns are grieving and when it is appropriate to do so we will remember those who we have lost."

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McGehee added, "The Maplewood Public Health Division now has a total of 118 coronavirus COVID-19 cases including today's unfortunate loss of life and our three previously reported deaths. The new cases range from 23 to 98 years of age. Of our previous cases, 22 have fully recovered. Please note with a population of 25,000, to date we have one of the lowest case counts per 1000 residents in the county."

He reminded people to maintain proper social distancing in public, and had a message for parents.

"Parents and guardians, it is important that our youth practice social distancing," he said. "In addition, remind them to wash their hands after returning home from any public space. Social distancing is 6 feet when exercising, walking, or biking as well as wearing a mask."

McGehee said the Public Health Division works to obtain the recent contact history for people with the virus, including contacting anyone who may have been exposed. In addition, the Public Health Division provides guidance to any business that has been impacted.

"If you have received a positive confirmed diagnosis from your healthcare provider but have not heard from our Public Health Division in 24 hours, please call the Public Health Division at (973) 762-8120," he wrote.

For COVID-19 resources, please visit the Township of Maplewood’s COVID-19 website at: https://www.twp.maplewood.nj.us/covid19.

Essex County as a whole reported 351 deaths as of Friday morning, and there were 1700 statewide. In Essex, 4,560 people have been confirmed to have the virus, and 4,397 got a negative test result.

Those numbers are from the state's Communicable Disease Reporting and Surveillance System, which tracks communicable diseases. The numbers may be entered into the state database before they are released by local officials.

The U.S. surgeon general said Sunday that the next weeks could be the "hardest and saddest" the country has seen.

Gov. Phil Murphy held another press conference Thursday morning to address the crisis. Read more here.

As of Tuesday evening, more than 88,000 people had died from the virus worldwide, 14,695 of those in the U.S.

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

Experts say that the novel coronavirus, because it's new, is more lethal and much harder to treat than the flu.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

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