Wayne Reports 72 Coronavirus Cases Since Thanksgiving

WAYNE, NJ — Wayne reports 72 new coronavirus cases since Thanksgiving, according to the latest numbers posted to the township website.

As of Tuesday afternoon, numbers were posted from Friday, Nov. 27 and Saturday, Nov. 28.

Fifty positive tests were reported Friday with an additional 22 reported Saturday, according to the township numbers.

Passaic County reported 389 new cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday, and an additional four deaths. No coronavirus-related deaths were reported in Wayne over the weekend.

This comes as Gov. Phil Murphy said he plans to avoid a statewide coronavirus shutdown similar to the one he ordered last spring.

But, speaking during a "Fox News Sunday" interview and a Monday news conference, he said it isn't off the table.

READ MORE: Gov. Murphy Plans To Avoid NJ Shutdowns — For Now: Here's Why

Murphy specifically addressed rumors during Monday's coronavirus briefing about an impending statewide lockdown – and a day before New Jersey announced its highest daily coronavirus death toll since June 13th: 90. The Garden State also had 4,661 more cases on Tuesday.

"Just because we say that all options are on the table — and by the way, you would want us to say that, given that we're dealing with a pandemic and enormous loss of life — that does not mean that we are about to exercise any of those options," he said.

Last week, the coronavirus activity level rose from "moderate" to "high" in 18 New Jersey counties, including Passaic, according to the state Department of Health's "COVID-19 Activity Level Report."

During a Nov. 16 news conference, Wayne Mayor Christopher Vergano reported worrying trends in the township, which mirrored much of the state.

"For the month of November, unfortunately, we're already up to 274 positive cases," said Vergano, adding that the case total means the town is reporting an average of 17.2 cases per day.

In October, Vergano said the numbers were headed in the wrong direction when the town reported 154 cases for the entire month. In the second week of November alone, the township reported 173 cases.

Just 16 days in, and Wayne was already up significantly from their October totals, which was up significantly from the prior three months, when the township reported 74 new cases during July and September, and 76 new cases in August.

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