Cranford Resident Dies Of Coronavirus

CRANFORD, NJ — A Cranford resident has died from coronavirus, Mayor Patrick Giblin said in his daily update to residents.

He also said there were 27 confirmed cases in the township as of Thursday. Many people throughout the state are waiting for a test or waiting for results.

The state had a total of 81 deaths from the virus and 6,876 confirmed cases, as of Thursday.

In Giblin's address, he said:

<blockquote>Township of Cranford Mayor Patrick Giblin, the Health Department, and Office of Emergency Management today received notice from the State Department of Health that there are five new confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Cranford, and sadly, the passing of one Cranford resident.

The Township extends our deepest sympathies to their family and loved ones during these extraordinary circumstances, and asks that you keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

We also remind residents to remain vigilant in following the guidance provided by the Centers for Disease Control, the State of New Jersey and our public health officials when it comes to continuing to stay home, practicing social distancing (keeping 6 feet away), vigorously hand washing often, covering coughs and sneezes and disinfecting common areas.

It is the best way to reduce the rapid spread of this virus. Together, we will overcome these challenges and difficult days.

To protect the private medical information of these individuals, Cranford will not be releasing additional information about these cases. We ask that residents respect our impacted residents right to privacy based on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Today, Governor Murphy announced that New Jersey received a Major Disaster Declaration from the Federal Government. NJ now has access to greater essential federal support to help us through the COVID-19 emergency. If you have questions or concerns related to COVID-19, use the following resources to stay informed and get the facts:

• Call 2-1-1
• Text NJCOVID to 898-211
• Text your zip code to 898-211 for live text assistance
• NJ Department of Health, COVID-19 or https://covid19.nj.gov/
• CDC – General Information on Coronavirus: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html and Frequently Asked Questions: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html
• John Hopkins University & Medicine: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/
• Township Website: www.cranfordnj.org

</blockquote>

Experts say that the novel coronavirus, because it's new, is more lethal and much harder to treat than the flu.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

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