Hoboken Updates Death Toll, Calls Monday 'Covid-19 Victims Day'

HOBOKEN, NJ — The city of Hoboken gave updated coronavirus fatality statistics over the weekend — saying a male in his early 50s and a male in his late 60s have passed away from the virus — and advised that residents can forward the names of loved ones for upcoming remembrances.

The death toll is now 53 Hoboken residents who have passed away from the virus, two more than reported last weekend.

"I’m saddened to report we were notified earlier in the week of two additional COVID-19 related deaths, a male in his early 50s and another male in his late 60s, bringing Hoboken’s total to 43," said Mayor Ravi Bhalla.

Among the fatalities was a resident of the men's housing in the former YMCA, as a board member there confirmed this week that a resident passed away. In addition, 20 of 44 men who got tested afterward were positive for the virus. (READ MORE: One Fatality In Coronavirus Outbreak At Hoboken Men's Shelter)

How to remember those who've passed

The city said that the City Council voted Wednesday on a resolution naming the first Monday in March as COVID-19 Victims and Survivors Memorial Day in Hoboken. There will also be a virtual ceremony via a church on March 7.

"We are joining nearly 150 other cities in designating the day where we can pay our respects to residents who have sadly passed away from the virus, along with their family and friends," Bhalla said in the alert. "At 7 p.m. on Monday, I ask all residents to consider taking a brief moment of silence to pause and reflect on those who we’ve lost over the past year, and those who continue to be affected by the virus. I’ll also be directing city staff to fly all municipal flags at half-staff."

There are two ways to memorialize loved ones:

• For anyone who would like to share a picture and note remembering a Hoboken resident or loved one lost due to COVID-19, send a photo and note to: COVID19@hobokennj.gov this weekend. They city may share it on social media on Monday or during the week.
• Additionally, All Saints, Hoboken will be hosting a virtual Service of Remembrance and Hope in honor of those lost to COVID-19 via YouTube channel on March 7 at 4 p.m. If you would like the name of a family member who passed away from COVID-19 to be read in the ceremony, please email Rev. Elaine Thomas at ethomas@allsaintshoboken.com.

Local hospitalization and case trends

Coronavirus hospitalizations are down slightly in the city's hospital:

• The city said Saturday that Hoboken University Medical Center is currently treating 19 patients with COVID-19, including five Hoboken residents.
• Last weekend, Hoboken University Medical Center was treating 21 patients with COVID-19, including six Hoboken residents.

The city said that the Hoboken Health Department has reported 218 new COVID-19 cases since a week ago:

Feb. 20: 12
Feb. 21: 44
Feb. 22: 15
Feb. 23: 31
Feb. 24: 56
Feb. 25: 18
Feb. 26: 42

This was even more than reported for the prior week's total, which included eight days. The city reported 204 new cases from Feb. 12-19.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Hoboken has had 3,411 known, confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Last week's report said that Hoboken — a mile-square city of 53,000 residents — included a confirmed 3,193 cases of the virus.

Bhalla on Thursday urged Hoboken residents to avoid non-essential travel outside of New Jersey to minimize the spread of COVID-19.

Vaccination updates and testing sites

Here is testing and vaccination information:

• Patch on Friday published an updated list of places to get a vaccine in Hudson County, and links to information about the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine and links to the various sign-up sites in Hoboken. Read more here.
• Here is a list of the city's testing sites.
• Check the city's Nixle alerts for the most up-to-date information on vaccinations and testing sites.

New Jersey trends and vaccine information

While the death toll in New Jersey is declining again, deaths and hospitalizations have not decreased to the level of Sept. 7, when there were 2 deaths reported statewide in 24 hours.

On Wednesday, the state reported 57 new confirmed deaths from the virus in 24 hours, and 2,070 people battling the virus in hospitals.

The state has confirmed 55 cases in New Jersey of the UK variant of the virus.

Presently, the state's sites are vaccinating people in the 1A and 1B groups, including certain essential workers, seniors over 65, and people 16-65 with chronic medical conditions. Find out if you qualify by clicking this link.

People can register for an appointment on the state's hub for any of the state's six megasites, besides checking the other websites listed below.

Here is a link to Hudson County sites. The city of Hoboken also has some locations, linked in the beginning of this story.

Some in New Jersey have been helped by social media groups, like New Jersey Covid Vaccine Info on Facebook, which has 67,000 members.

Two types of vaccines are presently offered, and more are on the way:

• Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, including the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, are a new type of vaccine that doesn't include the weakened virus, but teaches human cells to make a protein that triggers the immune response (read more about that here).
• The FDA may announced on Friday that they will recommend a new one-shot vaccine developed Johnson and Johnson, which could be available later in March and uses more traditional technology. Read more about how it compares to the other vaccines by clicking here and here. Having the majority of the public vaccinated is expected to lessen the spread.

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Here are 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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