Gov. Murphy Eulogizes Westfield Dad Who Died Of Coronavirus

WESTFIELD, NJ — During his coronavirus briefings each day, Gov. Phil Murphy often selects several victims to eulogize, explaining Wednesday that "every one of the more than 14,000 of members of our broad and diverse and blessed New Jersey family ... deserve to not just be remembered as numbers, but for the lives they lived, the lives they touched, and the communities they left behind."

On Wednesday, he eulogized Nicholas Gismondi, 65, who was active in Westfield and raised his three children here. Gismondi had passed away during the height of the coronavirus pandemic statewide, on April 17.

Murphy noted that Gismondi's brother Ralph, a retired New York fire captain, had died of the virus 12 days earlier.

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Nicholas Gismondi's wife Mary Jane also tested positive and was hospitalized with the virus, but recovered, Murphy said.

Gismondi, Murphy noted, was a standout baseball player in high school in Queens and college in Brooklyn. "Nick ... was a prolific base-stealer," he noted.

Then, he and his wife moved to Westfield to raise children Christopher, Nicholas, and Michael.

Gismondi served as president of Westfield's baseball league. "His commitment to youth sports was equally well known and well regarded," Murphy said, "earning him induction into the Westfield Booster Hall of Fame."

Besides his wife and children, he leaves behind his parents and grandchildren.

"In their memories, we must continue to do all we are doing to fight this pandemic," Murphy said. "Even though the number of lives continues to decline, we are still losing lives to this virus. We cannot give up until that number hits zero and stays there, and even then, we have to make sure it stays there." (See below for current state numbers and trends.)

Related News: Westfield has gone a week without any new coronavirus cases. READ MORE: Westfield Goes A Week Without A Coronavirus Case.

To watch Wednesday's briefing, click here. Gismondi is featured around 13:00.

State and national coronavirus numbers

• New Jersey updated its list of states in its travel advisory on Tuesday. There are now 31 states and two territories from which residents must quarantine upon return. Read more here.
• The state has reported 190,021, total coronavirus cases and 14,124 confirmed deaths since the pandemic began. On Tuesday, the state reported 346 new cases and five new deaths. This death rate is down from the high of 460 deaths in 24 hours reported on April 30.
• Many other states reached record daily death rates in July (see the daily totals in each state here). They have pulled back on their reopenings, including Texas, which closed bars after seeing record numbers of hospitalizations and deaths.
• More than 176,000 Americans have died of coronavirus, and more than 5.6 million have tested positive.
• More than 900 health care workers have died of the virus nationally. Others are fighting dangerous misinformation as they fight the virus.

How to get tested for coronavirus

Those who want to get tested can choose among these steps:

• If you're a Union City resident, you can make an appointment at the county testing site by calling 908-214-7107.
• To find out more about getting tested in Union County, contact your doctor, visit covid19.nj.gov/testing, or call 211.
• The schedule for the Union County drive-through testing center has changed several times

Here are statewide coronavirus resources:

• NJ COVID-19 Information Hub: https://covid19.nj.gov/
• General COVID-19 questions: 2-1-1
• NJ COVID-19 hotline: (800) 222-1222

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