'Shake Off Fatigue' As COVID Spikes In Cinnaminson, Officials Say

CINNAMINSON, NJ — With the number of coronavirus cases continuing to climb in Cinnaminson and across Burlington County, officials are calling on residents to hake off "coronavirus fatigue" and strictly adhere to social-distancing restrictions and quarantining guidance.

"The second wave is here, and we're seeing an alarming increase in the number of positive cases across the county," Burlington County Health Director Dr. Herb Conaway said Monday afternoon. "Even as cases surge, our Health Department is experiencing a lot of resistance from people concerning contact tracing and even quarantining. This behavior is unacceptable and puts us all at greater risk from what remains a dangerous epidemic. It cannot continue."

Fifteen new coronavirus cases were reported in Cinnaminson over the weekend, Burlington County health officials said on Monday. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 457 Cinnaminson residents have tested positive for the coronavirus and 30 have died.

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"We are committed to continuing to provide services and keeping our employees and residents safe," Cinnaminson Township Business Administrator Eric Schubiger said during Monday night's Committee meeting. "Our operations will continue to be impacted. We will continue to follow the governor's directives, the CDC's guidance and work closely with the Burlington County Department of Health to make decisions that are necessary, even if they are unpopular. We thank our residents for their patience."

Over the weekend, 411 new cases were reported throughout Burlington County. Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 11,320 cases countywide. There have been 500 confirmed deaths and 54 probable deaths.

Statewide, new restrictions are being put in place to help limit the spread of the coronavirus. Gov. Phil Murphy told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that New Jersey is reducing the limits on indoor gatherings from 25 to 10 people beginning Tuesday, and on outdoor gatherings from 500 to 150 people beginning Nov. 23. Read more here: Gov. Murphy: NJ To Lower Gathering Limits Amid Coronavirus Spikes

The news comes a week after Murphy imposed a 10 p.m. indoor curfew at bars and restaurants and eliminating bar seating. Murphy also signed an order this past week allowing communities to establish a curfew as early as 8 p.m. Read more here: Gov. Murphy Clarifies Rules For NJ Indoor Dining, Bars, Barbers

"The last eight months have been extremely difficult on all of us. It's upended our lives and forced us to make adjustments that were unimaginable even a year ago," said Burlington County Freeholder Dan O'Connell, the board's liaison to the Department of Health. "I know everyone is experiencing COVID fatigue, but now is not the time for folks to become lax and let down their guard. We've come too far already and there are too many lives still at stake."

Strict compliance with quarantining guidance is among the most critical of actions residents must do to contain the spread of the highly contagious pathogen, Conaway said. Residents should isolate or quarantine if they have:

• tested positive for the coronavirus after undergoing a diagnostic/virus test (Such individuals should self-isolate at home for a minimum 10 days and are fever free for at least 24 hours and other symptoms are significantly improved);

• had close contact with someone who has the coronavirus — defined as being within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative period of 15 minutes or longer (These individuals should quarantine for 14 days or longer if they live in the same household, regardless of whether they themselves test positive or negative);
• traveled to one of the numerous states or territories with significant community spread of COVID-19. (Returning individuals should quarantine for 14 days.) Read more here: NJ Expands Coronavirus Travel Quarantine List To 45 States

Conaway stressed that even residents who feel healthy or test negative should remain in quarantine and not leave home except to obtain medical care or essential items such as food and health supplies.

"The guidance is clear: Being symptom free or testing negative for the virus does not mean you do not need to quarantine for the full 14 days," Conaway said. "The virus has an incubation period of up to two weeks, and a negative diagnostic test does not mean you are safe to have contacts with others until the incubation period is over. Likewise, even residents who feel healthy can still be asymptomatic spreaders. I cannot emphasize this enough: if you are instructed to quarantine, please do so. We cannot contain this disease unless everyone does their part and strictly complies."

In addition to obeying quarantine instructions, officials said residents need to be more vigilant about wearing masks properly — so that it covers both your mouth and your nose — while in public and with following social-distancing guidelines.

"What we're seeing in far too many cases is people aren't wearing their mask properly," Burlington County Health Director Dr. Herb Conaway said in a video that was posted online Monday. "They're letting them slip below their nose, they're not covering their mouth."
He reminded residents that the virus likes to rest on a person's eyes, and enter the body through the mouth and nose. He then referred to a chart showing the proper ways to wear a mask. Video of the message can be seen below.

Cooperation with contact tracing must also improve, O'Connell said.

"With the number of positive cases rising so fast, our ability to contact trace is being strained," O'Connell said. "It makes cooperation with our efforts that much more important. We need to be able to trace all positive contacts and do so quickly so people who may have potentially been exposed are alerted and know to quarantine."

He encouraged all residents to download New Jersey's free COVID Alert NJ app to assist with contact tracing efforts. The secure mobile app is available at https://covid19.nj.gov/pages/app and can anonymously alert users if they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus.

"The app is another tool in our fight. Only upon permission provided by a COVID-19 positive individual will the anonymous alert be sent to the close contacts of the authorizing individual," Conaway said. "Only about 14% of us need to use COVID Alert NJ to have a significant impact on crushing COVID. So please, join me in using the app."