In Wayne, 154 October Coronavirus Cases Doubles September Total

WAYNE, NJ — Mayor Christopher Vergano reported 154 new coronavirus cases during the month of October, a figure that more than doubles the total from September.

In a monthly news conference, Vergano gave an update on the township's coronavirus totals, signaling that the township is following state trends as cases rise while temperatures fall.

Vergano reported 13 cases during the first week of the month, 35 in the second, 22 in the third, 39 in the fourth and 45 during the last week of the month, an average of 4.97 cases per day.

For context, Wayne Township reported 74 new cases during July and September, and 76 new cases in August.

"The numbers are going in the wrong direction," said Vergano.

"The only positive note is we have not experienced an additional death since July."

Wayne isn't the only community trending downward, and Gov. Phil Murphy is expected to implement "broader actions" to stop the rise in cases over the coming days.

Murphy said New Jersey will have to consider strong steps now that the state had its third consecutive day of reporting 2,000 or more cases — the first time that's happened since May 1-3, according to a Patch report.

Watch Mayor Vergano's full news conference below:

Vergano reported these numbers days before Wayne Public Schools announced they would be closing and canceling athletics until Nov. 16 after multiple Halloween parties led to positive coronavirus tests among students.

There are a few reasons beyond just the positive tests that are causing the closure of schools, Superintendent Mark Toback said in a letter.

The volume of contact tracing measures, to start, is "beyond our capacity," Toback said, due to the number of students said to have attended these parties.

Additionally, Toback said that some party-goers are likely to have brothers and sisters at other grade levels throughout the township's public school system, prompting the shift to remote learning for all schools, not just the township's two high schools.

READ MORE: Wayne Halloween Parties Lead To COVID Cases, School Closures