Maplewood Has 20 Coronavirus Cases, Including 4-Year-Old

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Maplewood Mayor Frank McGehee sent an email to residents Wednesday morning and then again in the evening, providing updates on coronavirus cases in the city.

The mayor noted in the evening that there were now 20 confirmed cases in Maplewood, including a 4-year-old. In the morning email, he said the count was up to 12, but the first nine were already recovering.

There are likely many more waiting to be tested, as regional testing centers have had to close early in some places due to demand. A new testing facility that opened on Monday at the PNC Arts Center had to close by 10 a.m. because of the demand. (It reopened Tuesday). The same situation occurred on Sunday in Bergen County.

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Here are the evening and morning updates:

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Wednesday evening:

The Maplewood Public Health Division has been notified of eight new coronavirus COVID-19 cases bringing our case total to 20 in Maplewood. The new cases range from 4 to 59 years of age. The NJ Department of Health has reported 4,402 confirmed cases in the state of New Jersey which includes 519 in Essex County.

If you have received a positive confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 from your healthcare provider but have not heard from our Public Health Division in 24 hours of your diagnosis, please call the Maplewood Public Health Division at (973) 762-8120.

The Public Health Division is working hard to investigate and obtain the recent contact history for all cases, which includes contacting anyone who has potentially been exposed, and coordinating with other local health departments and health care providers.

If you are feeling sick with cough and fever, please stay home and call your healthcare provider for guidance on how to manage your symptoms and if you can manage your symptoms (cough and fever) from home, please do so.

If you are a close contact with a suspected or known case of coronavirus and have questions on what to do, please call the Maplewood Public Health Division, (973) 762-8120. Also, visit our township’s dedicated COVID-19 website at https://www.twp.maplewood.nj.u... for information such as the new Essex county COVID-19 Testing Site which will open tomorrow, Thursday March 26th. To attend the county testing site you need to register on the website: www.EssexCOVID.org
For more information, you can also call 2-1-1 or the state coronavirus hotline, (800)222-1222.

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Morning email:

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In the last two days, the Maplewood Public Health Division has been notified of three new coronavirus COVID-19 cases, bringing our case total to 12 in Maplewood.

At the moment, The NJ Department of Health has reported 3,675 confirmed cases in the state of New Jersey which includes 342 in Essex County. The three new cases are a 20 year old male, a 45 year old male and and a 45 year old female. The 45 year old female is self-isolating and the household contacts are self-monitoring.

The recent contact history of the all three cases is being investigated by the Maplewood Public Health Division. They are contacting anyone who has potentially been exposed and coordinating with other local health departments and health care providers.

Of our previous nine cases, six have nearly fully recovered and three are receiving medical care but recovering.

Again, if you are feeling sick with cough and fever, please stay home and call your healthcare provider for guidance on how to manage your symptoms and if you can manage your symptoms (cough and fever) from home, please do so.

If you are a close contact with a suspected or known case of coronavirus and have questions on what to do, please call the Maplewood Public Health Division, (973) 762-8120. You can also call 2-1-1 or the state coronavirus hotline, (800)222-1222.

Elective Surgeries
As part of the state’s effort to preserve the capacity of the health care system to respond to COVID-19, Governor Phil Murphy signed Executive Order No. 109, directing the suspension of all elective surgeries and invasive procedures performed on adults that are scheduled to take place after 5 p.m. on March 27. The Governor’s Executive Order applies to all medical and dental operations that can be delayed without undue risk to the current or future health of the patient, as determined by the patient’s physician or dentist. Please reach out to your physician or dentist if you are scheduled to have a procedure after 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 27.

New Jersey Job Portal to Connect Residents to Opportunities
The state has launched a new online portal with jobs in critical industries responding to COVID-19. The jobs portal is available at:https://jobs.covid19.nj.gov.
The jobs portal already has more than 12,000 openings in industries including grocery stores, shipping and logistics, healthcare, janitorial services, human services, and warehousing.

Township Service

Please visit our township website and check out our COVID-19 page at: https://www.twp.maplewood.nj.u... and be sure to miss important information and sign up for our township email communications at: https://www.twp.maplewood.nj.u...

2020 Census Update
As of 3/23, 18.4% of Essex County’s households have filled out the census, Maplewood is at 25.6% and trailing South Orange who posted a 30.2% response rate. Let’s catch South Orange!
Don’t delay. Go to my2020census.gov/ now. You Matter, Be Counted - Everyone in Maplewood Counts Thank you.

MAPSO Small Business
Again, several small businesses are open, selling items for delivery via mail or direct drop off with social distancing. To learn more about our Springfield Ave businesses, please go to http://www.springfieldavenue.com/covid19-updates and for South Orange go to https://southorangecovid19.com/business.
Mayor Frank McGehee

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

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.

Got a news tip in Maplewood? Email caren.lissner@patch.com.

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