COVID Milestone In Westfield: 10 Days Without A New Case

WESTFIELD, NJ — Westfield Mayor Shelley Brindle had an announcement in her weekly update on Friday that she called "truly fantastic news": Westfield has gone 10 days without a new coronavirus case.

Brindle said, "What an amazing milestone for our community. Normalcy is returning more and more each day, and it's wonderful to see the energy of in-person gatherings as we approach summer."

Similar levels were last seen nearly one year ago, on June 30, 2020, when Westfield went nearly 2 weeks without a case after three months of lockdowns. However, after the July 4 holiday weekend, Westfield made statewide news when several teenagers apparently caught the virus at a party.

In late August 2020, the town went a week without a new case.

Numbers for May 2021

There were 57 cases reported in Westfield for all of May, said the Regional Health Department, a 75.5 percent decrease from last month, and a 88.3 percent decrease from January 2021.

The ages of the cases ranged from 1 to 72 years old, broken down as follows, officials said:

• Age 9 and under: 10 cases
• Age 10-19: 20 cases
• Age 20-29: 5 cases
• Age 30-39: 3 cases
• Age 40-49: 7 cases
• Age 50-59: 7 cases
• Age 60-69: 3 cases
• Age 70-79: 2 cases
• Age 80-89: 0
• Age 90 and above: 0

The update said that in Union County, 294,706 residents (52.9 percent of the total population) have received one dose of vaccine, and 238,874 (42.9 percent of total population) are fully vaccinated.

In Westfield, 92 percent of those 65 and older, 87 percent of 18 and over, and 67 percent of the entire population has been vaccinated with at least one dose. In terms of those fully vaccinated, 86 percent of those 65 and older, 78 percent of 18 and up, and 57 percent overall have been fully vaccinated. Children under 12 are not yet eligible.

The CDC said this month that people can consider themselves "fully vaccinated" and protected two weeks after their final shot. Vaccines are not yet available for children under 12.

Statewide Hospitalization Numbers And Updates

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy lifted the indoor mask and social distancing mandate as of last Friday for fully vaccinated residents.

For those not vaccinated, the CDC continues to encourage you to wear a face mask indoors when around others, especially when social distancing is not possible.

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

Last month, a CDC Panel recommended resuming the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after reviewing reports of 13 women getting blood clots — three fatal — out of 7.98 million receiving the shot. The shot will now come with a warning.

This past Wednesday, the state of New Jersey said 518 residents were hospitalized with the virus, 70 of them on ventilators. Since the day before, 20 new deaths from the virus were reported.

The state of New Jersey's daily death toll was at its lowest last Sept. 8, when only 2 deaths were reported in one day, after a summer of lockdowns. New Jersey's peak daily death toll on April 30, 2020 was 460 fatalities reported in one day. On Sept. 8, only 2 deaths were reported in one day.

As of Friday, 596,900 Americans have died of the virus. 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.

Related Stories

• Westfield Mayor Brindle Looks Back On An Unexpected Year In Westfield: 'No Playbook'
• Stores In One Popular City In North Jersey Ask Residents To Keep Masking Up

Don't miss Westfield breaking news alerts when they are announced, or get a free daily newsletter each morning with local news. Sign up with your preferences here.

Got news? Email caren.lissner@patch.com. Got photos? Please include express written permission from the photographer for us to use them. To be the first to get free news alerts with breaking stories in your town, or to get a free local newsletter each morning, sign up for Patch breaking news alerts or daily newsletters.