COVID Case At Westfield Edison Fields Meeting: Public Urged To Get Tested

WESTFIELD, NJ — The town of Westfield was notified Thursday that a person at a public meeting Monday has tested positive for COVID-19, and they are encouraging people who were there to get tested — in some cases, twice.

"While the risk of transmission is low due to the meeting’s required mask policy and the high vaccination rate of the community," noted the regional health commission, "all those who attended the meeting should consider testing as a precaution."

The meeting Monday was the third public input meeting regarding the Edison School Multipurpose Fields Project, which will place a series of recreational fields behind Edison Intermediate School. (Read more about that here.)

"For vaccinated individuals, testing should be considered on Sept. 23, 24, or 25," suggested the health commission. "For unvaccinated individuals, testing should be considered immediately and, if negative, again on Sept. 25, 26 or 27. Public health guidelines also recommend that unvaccinated individuals quarantine through Sept. 27, even if they receive a negative test result."

The Edison School community that the room was thoroughly disinfected following the meeting, said the health commission.

Those with questions can contact the Westfield Regional Health Department at 908-789-4070.

The Westfield Regional Health Commission provides public health and environmental services to
Chatham Borough, Fanwood, Garwood, Mountainside, New Providence, Roselle Park, Summit, and Westfield

See this week's Union County COVID case numbers, trends, and death toll here.

COVID began spreading more rapidly this summer with the highly transmissible Delta variant. While the vaccinated people may have "breakthrough cases" and get sick with the virus, there has been a much lower rate of hospitalization or death among those vaccinated, doctors say.

A news story last month showed that in the majority of states, among COVID patients in hospitals, 99 percent or higher were unvaccinated.

Read More About COVID And NJ:

• COVID Hospitalizations Spike In NJ As Delta Variant Spreads
• Mayor: Westfield Had One Coronavirus Death In July
• NJ Mom Urges: Please Listen to COVID 'Long-Haulers'
• 4 Things To Know About The Delta Variant Of Coronavirus In NJ
• New Jersey Town Says: Get Vaccinated Or No Spaghetti For You
• Rise In Child COVID Hospitalizations Prompts Vaccination Plea
• NJ Hospital Preps For COVID Surge As Kids Set To Return To School

More Information

• 98 percent to 99 percent of recent COVID deaths were unvaccinated people, according to one study earlier this summer.
• Here is information on vaccine side effects, including the most rare but severe effects.
• COVID survivors may suffer from long-term symptoms.

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