Cranford Has Only 3 New Coronavirus Cases In 1 Week

CRANFORD, NJ — On Wednesday, July 8, the township of Cranford reported three new cases of coronavirus among residents since the week before.

The township issued this weekly update at 1 p.m.:

• Cranford: 490 confirmed cases (3 new); 95 fatalities (0 new)
• Union County: 16,443 confirmed cases; 1,141 fatalities
• NJ: 174,039 confirmed cases; 13,476 fatalities

Most cities in New Jersey are seeing an uptick in cases as facilities reopen and people travel back from states that reopened sooner than New Jersey.

On Saturday, the death toll in America from coronavirus was over 128,000 people, with 50,000 new cases in one day, a record.

Mandatory masks, and quarantining after traveling

The state of New Jersey has asked its residents to self-quarantine and get tested after coming back from 19 states. Three new states were added Tuesday after the original sixteen.

States around the country have had to pull back on their reopenings, including Texas, which closed bars and which is seeing a record number of hospitalizations and deaths.

A week ago, before the July 4 holiday weekend, on Wednesday, July 1, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said there had been 423 new cases of the virus statewide in the previous 24 hours, and 45 more deaths. That meant that the number of cases had risen to 171,928, and 13,244 deaths.

A week later, this Wednesday, July 8, Murphy reported 335 new cases in 24 hours and 53 more deaths, bringing the death toll to 13, 476. Two residents die from the virus in the state each hour.

But this rate is down from New Jersey's peak: a high of 460 deaths in 24 hours on April 30, or one person every three minutes.

On Wednesday, Gov. Phil Murphy ordered residents to wear masks. He also said he will expand outdoor dining.

To check out Patch reports on reopenings and more, see these other recent Cranford coronavirus updates:

ENTERTAINMENT

• Read about the newly announced outdoor drive-in movies here.
• Read about Cranford outdoor dining here.
• Read about other Cranford reopenings here.

SCHOOLS

• The governor's school reopening guidance was published on June 26.
• The superintendent in Cranford talked this week about fall reopening plans, and said he'd send more guidance next week.
• Cranford schools are scheduled to reopen on Sept. 8.

TESTING

• The schedule for the Union County drive-through testing center has changed several times. For more information, click here.
• If you're a Union City resident, you can make an appointment at the testing site by calling 908-214-7107.

LOCAL BUSINESS/JOBS

• The Garden State had planned to start allowing bars and restaurants to reopen for indoor dining on Thursday at 25 percent capacity — but Murphy pulled back a week ago Monday, citing coronavirus spikes in other states where indoor dining opened earlier, as well as photos of Jersey shore bars packed with patrons.
• However, outdoor dining started June 15.
• Hair salons and other personal care businesses were able to reopen June 22. State rules can be found here.
• Read more about unemployment, small business, and other coronavirus regulations and benefits in New Jersey here.
• Turtleback Zoo has job opportunities in guest relations, paddle boats, Treetop Adventure, parking and maintenance, must be 18 years of age. Please visit the link for a list of available jobs and how to apply: https://buff.ly/2QWodaV

HOSPITALS/NURSING HOMES

• New Jersey residents have become alarmed at the high number of residents who have passed away in nursing homes, rehabs, and similar facilities, and have charged that the facilities are undercounting the numbers and not adequately protecting residents and staff. The state has faced questions for weeks from the press about how they will address the problems.
• There is now a state website with numbers for people at individual nursing homes.
• You can report immediate issues with long term care facilities here, or if you suspect coronavirus related misconduct that should be reported to the Attorney General, here.
• Some nursing homes have begun allowing socially distanced visits.
• Local hospitals updated their visitor guidelines last week. Read more here.

GIVING AND GETTING HELP

• To find out about help for the needy and seniors, or get food or food bank information, contact your town via the Cranford town website.
• To read about Feed the Front Lines, click here.

Here are additional statewide coronavirus resources:

• NJ COVID-19 Information Hub: https://covid19.nj.gov/
• General COVID-19 questions: 2-1-1
• NJ COVID-19 hotline: (800) 222-1222

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