Chatham Twp. Mayor: What Coronavirus Info We Can Release And Why

CHATHAM TOWNSHIP, NJ — Mayor Michael Kelly wrestled with requests for officials to release more detailed information on where coronavirus cases occur in Chatham Township. But officials run into barriers with releasing health information, Kelly said in a Monday "Message from the Mayor."

Meanwhile, Kelly announced the township reported two new cases Friday. That brought Chatham Township to seven confirmed cases last week and 14 known active cases.

"14 known active cases is simply not an accurate number," he wrote. "We know it doesn't include those who are asymptomatic and untested, those infected but waiting for their test results, those who got a false negative, those exposed and infected hours after their negative test, those who drove into town to work or to buy groceries, and a host of other exceptions."

A resident requested more detailed information from officials months ago, wanting to know whether someone on her apartment-building floor tested positive for COVID-19. But health departments can't provide info that might identify someone's medical history, Kelly says. (New Jersey, however, now has contact tracers who can inform people if they may have been exposed to the virus.)

And that data won't necessarily tell you much about specific areas to avoid.

"Public health data does not provide the kind of information that lets us decide which bagel shop to visit and which to avoid, which was an example contained in one email I received this week," Kelly said.

But available data provides plenty of useful information, he says. Statistics show that, on average, township residents have been more careful than most, Kelly said. Health officials have reported 191 cases in Chatham Township and 114 in Chatham Borough since the pandemic began.

The data warns that cases jumped after Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day and Halloween, Kelly says. So he advised people to be careful during Thanksgiving.

"With Thanksgiving coming this week, families need to be extra careful of their travel and dinner plans not to expose their loved ones to the coronavirus," he said.

Read Kelly's full message below:

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