Eleven More Westfield Residents Have Coronavirus, All Ages 18-25

WESTFIELD, NJ — A day after the mayor of Westfield, NJ reported an uptick in coronavirus cases, a concerning factor after two weeks without a single new case, Mayor Shelley Brindle gave another update on Saturday afternoon. She said there had been 11 new cases confirmed since Friday, the fifth highest one-day total since March. All 11 were between ages 18 and 25, and "Three have been traced to attendance at parties," Brindle said.

[UPDATE: See the new numbers in Westfield from Sunday, and the responses on social media: Story here.]

The news came after residents expressed concerns Friday because an alert from a local urgent care center on Friday said a "cluster" appeared to be forming among young adults in town in their twenties who attended recent parties. Brindle had confirmed Friday that a number of teenagers had tested positive, three of whom had attended a local party.

On Saturday afternoon, Brindle wrote, "This is a brief update outside of my regularly scheduled emails to notify everyone that today we received confirmation of 11 new COVID cases, nine of which are between the ages of 18-21, and two are between the ages of 22-25. Three have been traced to attendance at parties, while the remaining are still under investigation. This makes 28 cases since June 30, and the fifth highest day total since our first case was confirmed on March 14."

Westfield has had a total of 310 residents test positive since the pandemic again. The town has lost 42 residents to the virus, the last one noted on June 3, an 82-year-old woman.

Many cities in New Jersey went for a week in mid-June with minimal new cases, but are seeing an uptick in cases as facilities reopen and people travel back from states that reopened sooner than New Jersey.

Brindle added, "To reiterate what I said yesterday, if you feel you have been exposed, please do two things: Get tested, and begin to self-quarantine immediately for 14 days. It’s important to do both. I hope this spike serves as a reminder that we all have a responsibility to remain vigilant to mitigate community spread. Wash your hands. Keep a safe distance. Wear a face covering."

She signed off with, "Working together, we can get this genie back in the bottle."

Nearby towns posted a link to a story about the Westfield cluster on their social media Friday and Saturday, warning residents not to get careless with precautions.

On Facebook on Saturday, the town of 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." (For a Summit update from this week, click here.)

For our extensive report on the Westfield matter from Friday, click here.

Out of state travel

Some North Jersey cities have said that their contract tracing showed that an uptick was due to out-of-state travel.

The state has asked New Jersey residents to self-quarantine and get tested after coming back from 19 states. Three new states were added Tuesday after the original sixteen.

States around the country have had to pull back on their reopenings, including Texas, which closed bars and which is seeing a record number of hospitalizations and deaths.

A week ago, before the July 4 holiday weekend, on Wednesday, July 1, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said there had been 423 new cases of the virus statewide in the previous 24 hours, and 45 more reports of deaths. That meant that the number of cases had risen to 171,928, and 13,244 deaths.

This past Wednesday, July 8, Murphy reported 335 new cases in 24 hours and confirmation 53 more deaths, bringing the death toll to 13, 476. Some of the deaths may have been from prior weeks and were just confirmed that day, Murphy has said, so it makes sense to look at week to week trends rather than day to date.

The rates in New Jersey are way down from when the city was still working to contain the virus, hospitals were overwhelmed, and some practitioners couldn't get proper protective equipment. New Jersey's peak was 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. He also said he will expand outdoor dining.

In her opening remarks for the Westfield Town Council meeting on June 30, mayor Shelley Brindle said the town has not gotten word of a new coronavirus case since June 17. The total number of cases remained 282.

The town has lost 42 residents to the virus, the last one noted on June 3, and 82-year-old woman.

Brindle said at the time, "I would be remiss if I did not remind everyone about the rising levels of covid-19 in a number of states with far less restrictions than we experienced here in New Jersey. With summer upon us and many folks traveling, please be considerate of the community and adhere to the quarantine guidelines set forth by the state. I’m also receiving a number of messages from concerned residents about the lack of social distancing and face coverings downtown, and I want to reiterate that this virus is not behind us."

She encouraged those who may have been exposed to get tested. Visit covid19.nj.gov/testing for more information. Or see this link to information about Union County testing.

For past Westfield coronavirus updates, statistics, testing information, and reopening updates, see this story.

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