Hoboken Gives Coronavirus Updates; Cake Boss To Chair Fundraiser

HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla had announced on Monday night that four more cases of coronavirus were confirmed among residents on Saturday, bringing the total confirmed to 538. One confirmed case from last week was removed as it turned out the person was not a Hoboken resident.

A total of 25 Hoboken residents have passed away due to the virus.

On Sunday, Gov. Phil Murphy said that in New Jersey, the number of coronavirus cases has risen to 138,532, and 9,255 people have died with the virus.

The city has established the Hoboken Relief Fund to help provide relief to individuals and small businesses "who have been hit hard from Covid-19," the city said in its Monday update. The first fundraising benefit, co-hosted by "Cake Boss" Buddy Valastro of Carlo's Bakery, has been scheduled for 6 p.m. this Saturday.

You can donate here and tune in live on Saturday on Facebook by clicking here.

Other local coronavirus updates:

TESTING

Bhalla said that people interested in getting a rapid test for the virus should call the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) hotline at City Hall at 201-420-5621 Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Residents with and without symptoms can get the test at Riverside’s testing site and receive a result in 15 minutes, he said.

The city will soon release information about antibody testing for the public. On Friday, the city tested approximately 260 first responders and frontline workers. Twenty-five, or slightly fewer than 10 percent, tested positive for IgG, which means that the individuals had coronavirus at some previous point.

SCHOOLS

Over the weekend, Murphy clamped down on in-public graduation ceremonies, saying they need to be held virtually. On Monday, he clarified and said that "wave parades" and other graduation and birthday celebrations are OK if they respect social distancing.

Last week, Murphy said New Jersey schools will be closed for the rest of the year. After discussing with the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association, the governor said that spring sports will not resume for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.

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