Princeton Health Officer Suggests Council Delay In-Person Meeting

PRINCETON, NJ — The Princeton Health Officer has recommended that Council push back its scheduled in-person meeting date owing to the rise of COVID-19 cases statewide.

“With the emergence in the highly contagious delta variant and increase in COVID-19 cases throughout New Jersey and within Princeton, I am recommending we delay the restart of in-person meetings until further notice,” Health Officer Jeff Grosser said in a letter to Council.

“The Princeton Health Department and Princeton Board of Health will continue to monitor this evolving situation and revisit the return to in-person meetings when COVID-19 activity level has decreased to levels deemed safe.”

Grosser said he consulted with Princeton Board of Health Officers Dr. Meredith Hodach-Avalos, Dr. George DiFerdinando, and Linda Schwimmer, JD before making the recommendation.

On July 4, Gov. Phil Murphy announced the termination of the public health emergency by signing Executive Order 244. Following that on July 8, Grosser recommended the Council begin considering meeting in-person and lifting health and safety protocols except for mask-wearing.

“This recommendation culminated out of updated guidance from Governor Murphy, the New Jersey Department of Health, and a reduction of localized cases in Princeton,” Grosser said in the letter. But with the emergence of COVID-19's Delta variant, Grosser has asked Council to cancel the start of in-person meetings which were scheduled to begin Sep. 13.

The Delta variant has spurred a sharp increase in cases across New Jersey. All of New Jersey is now under a "high" transmission level of coronavirus, according to the latest rankings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as of Saturday, Aug. 21.

The last time all of New Jersey was in a high viral spread zone was April 23, according to the CDC.

Read More Here: NJ Hits High COVID Transmission Rate, First Time Since April

As of Aug. 23, Princeton reported 14 new COVID-19 cases in the past seven days and 31 cases in 14 days. The township’s vaccination numbers are encouraging with 77 percent of residents (12 and above) being vaccinated.

During Monday’s meeting, Councilwoman Eve Niedergang said the council should have further discussion on the matter since “we are deciding for us, but the boards, commissions, and committees.”

“I want to make sure we address this from a number of different aspects before we make that decision to go back in person,” said Niedergang.

Councilman David Cohen said he was “interested in the possibility” of a hybrid meeting. The decision to go back to in-person meetings will be made considering recommendations from the Health Department and Board of Health, which is expected to meet in the first week of September.

Thank you for reading. Have a correction or news tip? Email sarah.salvadore@patch.com

Get breaking news alerts on your phone with our app. Download here. Sign up to get Patch emails so you don't miss out on local and statewide news.