Passaic County’s COVID Cases: See Wayne Updates

WAYNE, NJ — New data has been released that shows the coronavirus continues to have an impact on Wayne and Passaic County.

Passaic County reported 54,318 cases on Friday, and Wayne saw fewer than 1,100 residents test positive for the coronavirus in February for the first time since before the holiday season.

The disease’s impact is reflected in the state Department of Health's most recent "COVID-19 Activity Level Report," which is issued weekly. The most recent report, released Thursday, says Passaic County is in the “orange” zone.

If the county is in the "orange" zone, it means it has a rate of 10 to 25 cases per 100,000 people. “Yellow” means the county has a rate 1 to 10 cases per 100,000 people.

If the overall activity is at a "orange" level, state officials say, school districts in those counties would have to take more serious steps — such as quarantining or even shutting down schools — if a child shows the symptoms of COVID-19.

"When it is high risk, there are some recommendations that we make together with local school boards," said Edward Lifshitz, medical director for the state Department of Health.

Indeed, a number of school districts still provide remote instruction even as the number of new daily cases has dropped in recent weeks.

Officials in Wayne are considering an expansion of weekly in-person learning though, and parent input is being accepting through 4 p.m. Friday on what that would look like. Read more: Wayne Schools Seek Input In Latest Restart Survey

District officials are proposing a return to five day in-person learning for preschool and kindergarten-second grade students beginning April 19. Those in higher grades will continue with hybrid learning.

The district is also proposing additional support for high school students, including counselor support groups and academic support sessions.

See the full proposal here.

As of Feb. 26, 514 residents tested positive in February, a marked improvement from January and December, when over 1,100 residents tested positive. Vergano did report four new deaths in February during his latest coronavirus briefing, however. Read more: Extra COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Coming To Wayne

Officials like Bill Pascrell, Jr. and Gov. Phil Murphy were slated to visit Passaic County vaccine sites in recent days, including the St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Cathedral community vaccination site in Paterson.

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