Hoboken Man Is First In City To Die From Coronavirus

HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla announced in a nightly update on Monday that the city had lost its first resident to coronavirus. He said the man was 79.

"I’m saddened to report that a 79-year-old Hoboken resident passed away today due to COVID-19," he wrote. "I extend my deepest sympathies to his friends and family. "

He did not offer further details.

While municipalities have declined to release confidential details of the victims of the virus, some of their relatives have spoken out. In Cranford, a man posted his father's story on social media on Sunday night after his dad became the first man in Cranford to pass away from the virus.

In Bhalla's letter to the community on Monday night, he said there were 12 new COVID-19 cases confirmed in the city by Monday, with 108 total cases.

"Thank you as always to our Hoboken Health Department for their work in helping ensure those in contact with the individuals are self-quarantining," Bhalla wrote. "Please be sure to remain indoors as much as possible, utilize social distancing of at least six feet when outside, and sanitize and wash your hands frequently."

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Hoboken is a mile-square city of 53,000 people, directly across the river from midtown Manhattan.

Some other Hoboken notes:

• Bhalla also reminded residents to stay out of public parks, which he closed starting 8 a.m. Monday morning. "Please do not bypass the barricades as some did today," he wrote.
• He thanked first responders, and noted a Facebook group to get meals to them (click here

• There are now two Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) COVID-19 hotlines for general information and for seniors, between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. They are: General Hoboken COVID-19 hotline: 201-420-5620, Senior COVID-19 hotline: 201-420-5625.
• Bhalla said that CVS is now delivering prescriptions for free. Call your local store to inquire.
• Service on local buses, trains, and ferries has been reduced. Check the new schedules here.

On Monday afternoon, Gov. Phil Murphy said that 198 New Jersey residents have died from the disease, including eight who died at a Wanaque nursing home. More than 16,000 are confirmed to have tested positive.

Murphy has stressed staying at home and social distancing as a way to slow the spread of the illness and avoid overwhelming hospitals.

While the numbers show that older people are more likely to be hospitalized, officials have said they are seeing more cases of young people who are seriously ill — and a baby in Illinois died from the virus this past week.

Residents who have questions about coronavirus can call 211 or contact the State of New Jersey's hotline at 1 (800) 222-1222.

Experts say that the new coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, 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. COVID-19, the strain that emerged in China in late 2019, 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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