Health & Fitness
CentraState Hospital Triage Tent Set For Coronavirus Patients
The tent has been set up in case it is needed, hospital officials said; it is not yet in use.
FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP, NJ — CentraState Medical Center has erected a triage tent to help the hospital and its staff manage the increase in patients with the new coronavirus.
The tent went up outside the emergency department at the hospital in recent days, said Lori Palmer, spokeswoman for the hospital system, to "provide a better flow of patients for triaging purposes."
"The triage tent is currently not in use but we will provide updates as the situation changes," she said.
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CentraState Medical Center has been treating several patients who have tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. There have been three members of a Freehold family who have died from the illness, and at least two others still being treated at the hospital. Four members of the Fusco family have died, one of them at a hospital in Pennsylvania. Read more: 4 In Same Family, Including 3 In NJ, Die Of Coronavirus: Reports
Find out what's happening in Freeholdfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Palmer said CentraState has halted all visitation and all elective surgeries, and has canceled all community education courses.
"During these unprecedented times, the health and safety of our patients, staff and community remain our highest priority," the hospital system said.
As of Friday afternoon, there were 890 positive tests for COVID-19 in New Jersey, and 11 people have died from it, according to the state health department. More than 50 percent of those positives are people who are hospitalized, officials said. The first case in New Jersey was identified on March 4. There have been 53 positives in Monmouth County as of Thursday.
COVID-19 is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that's a close cousin to the SARS and MERS viruses that have caused outbreaks in the past. Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know
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