Maplewood Mayor: Please Get Tested Every 15 Days For Coronavirus

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Maplewood Mayor Frank McGehee and the Township of Maplewood urged residents, in a coronavirus update on Friday, to get tested every 15 days for the virus. He said the town will increase testing next week and he encouraged to continue precautions, especially as some travel for Spring Break.

As the vaccination effort continues in New Jersey, 2,225 people remained hospitalized with the virus statewide on Monday. There are 575 reports of "CDC variants of concern" in the state.

"We all must continue to do our part and be vigilant," McGehee said, "to get vaccinated as appointments become available and get tested often. The next couple of weeks will be critical to the health of our community as this afternoon starts our school district’s scheduled Spring Break, which means many people will be going away and returning."

He noted, "This morning I read in the New York Times that Covid-19 testing is on the decline. Unless you’ve been fully vaccinated please continue to get tested on a frequent basis. We encourage residents to get tested with or without symptoms every 15 days."

There have now been 1,300 cases in Maplewood back through last March, and 33 deaths.

McGehee released the following statistics:

• March new cases: 196 (ages: 10 months to 75)
• 39 percent of new cases in March were minors.
• Avg daily total of new cases: 7.8
• Total recovered cases: 532 of 1,300
• Total state cases: 777,521
• Total state deaths: 21,795

More testing in Maplewood

"To assist with your return to the community" after break, McGehee said, "we will commence testing opportunities the week of April 5th. See below."

There will be testing in Essex County this week, and then testing for almost a month in Maplewood starting April 5:

Essex County testing

Up to 800 Tests will be administered

• Tuesday, March 30, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., Essex County Hall of Records Complex, Employee Parking Deck, 50 West Market Street, Newark
• Saturday, April 3, 8 a.m. to 12 noon, Essex County Department of Public Works, 99 West Bradford Ave., Cedar Grove. Residents age 8 and older are welcome. Free of charge to Essex County residents/no insurance is required.

Maplewood testing

Starting April 5 until April 30, the town will be offering Covid and Antibody Testing at Yale Corner on Springfield Avenue from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. PCR (both Nasal and Saliva) as well as antibody testing will be offered. Register at NJcovidteam.com and bring ID, Insurance card or Social Security Card if uninsured.

"If you receive a positive test result and have not heard from the Maplewood Public Health Division," McGehee wrote, "please contact us at (973) 762-8120 so that we can advise you on isolation, quarantine and contact tracing."

Vaccination opportunities

The state notes, "Beginning March 29, additional essential front line workers will be eligible to book vaccine appointments. Beginning April 5, individuals aged 55 and over, additional essential workers, and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities 16 and over, detailed below, will be eligible to book appointments." Click here to see who's eligible now.

As of March 20, 171,540 shots have been offered by Essex County and 62,221 people are now fully vaccinated. A list of sites for an appointment:

• https://www.essexcovid.org/
• rwjbh.org/covid19vaccine
• cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine
• riteaid.com/pharmacy/covid-qualifier
• https://stopandshop.com/covid-vaccine
• https://www.walgreens.com/topic/promotion/covid-vaccine.jsp

Here is Patch's updated list of where to get a vaccine in Essex County.

Maplewood coronavirus resources

• Covid Communication Document: https://www.twp.maplewood.nj.us/sites/g/files/vyhlif3396/f/uploads/covid...
• COVID-19 Coronavirus Resource Portal: https://www.twp.maplewood.nj.us/covid19.
• New Jersey COVID-19 Statistics: https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/ncov.shtml
• Click “daily case summary updates” under Epi Data Summaries in the lower right corner.
• Quarantine timeframes guidance: https://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/topics/covid2019_professionals.shtml

Other vaccine help:

• Some in New Jersey have been helped to find an appointment through social media groups, like New Jersey Covid Vaccine Info on Facebook, which has 67,000 members.
• Young people in North Jersey have started volunteering to use their tech skills to get elderly residents a shot. READ MORE: Teen's New Group Finds Coronavirus Vaccines For Seniors

• Here is the link you can use any time to see the updated list of people eligible in New Jersey.

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