Summit Concerned After Westfield Reports 'Cluster' Among Young

SUMMIT, NJ — A day after the mayor of nearby Westfield reported an uptick in coronavirus cases — after two weeks without a new case — the city of Summit posted on social media that residents should be aware of the possibility of a similar uptick among younger adults in their city.

On Facebook on Saturday, Summit posted, "Even in Summit we are seeing an increased number of cases among 18 to 26 year olds. Please maintain a safe physical distance of six feet from non-family members and wear a mask when away from home unless a medical disability precludes you from wearing a face covering. Even if outdoors, social distancing is essential."

As of Friday, Summit did not appear to be experiencing a sudden increase in new cases like Westfield. The township said on Friday that there had been one new case reported since the previous update on Wednesday. The total number of confirmed cases was 221.

On Wednesday, Summit had reported four new cases since the previous Friday, July 3. (For an article on recent trends in Summit, click here.)

Seventeen Summit residents have passed away due to the virus since the pandemic began in March.

The city will give a new update on Monday.

However, the city did say in a subsequent post that after only 10 cases being reported in June, July wasn't looking as promising.

"June began with 205 cases and ended with 215," the city posted Sunday morning. "That’s ten cases in thirty days. Right now we are at six cases in twelve days. Let’s keep our numbers down. Remind those around you, particularly young adults to wear a mask."

On Friday and Saturday, Westfield Mayor Shelley Brindle gave updates saying a total of 20 new cases of coronavirus had been confirmed in the township on those two days, most in adults aged 18-25. Each day, "three have been traced to attendance at parties," Brindle said.

The cluster was big news because New Jersey had seen a decline in cases since the death toll peaked in April. In Westfield and other towns, the number of new cases had dropped to zero in mid-June.

Summit had reported only one new case in two weeks from the last week in June though July 3.

But as the state slowly reopened and people traveled to states that had reopened earlier, cases rose again. Some North Jersey cities have said that their contract tracing showed that an uptick was due to out-of-state travel.

This past Wednesday, July 8, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy reported 335 new cases in 24 hours and 53 more deaths, bringing the death toll to 13, 476. But this rate is down from New Jersey's peak: a high of 460 deaths in 24 hours on April 30, or one person every three minutes.

On Wednesday, Gov. Phil Murphy ordered residents to wear masks outdoors in areas where they must be near other people. In fact, new studies have supported the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation that mask-wearing is very helpful in cutting down on (but not eliminating entirely) the spread of the virus, particularly if both parties near each other are wearing one.

Visit covid19.nj.gov/testing for more information. Or see this link to information about Union County testing.

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