NJ's Top Health Official Judy Persichilli To Isolate After COVID-19 Exposure NJ's Top Health Official Judy Persichilli To Isolate After COVID-19 Exposure
NJ's Top Health Official Judy Persichilli To Isolate After Covid-19 Exposure New Jersey's top health official will be quarantining for 10 days after being exposed to COVID-19. Judy Persichilli will be voluntarily quarantining in her home until Dec. 8 "out of an abundance of caution and in line with the Department’s guidance," a statement from a DOH spokesperson said. The news comes after a member of Persichilli's office tested positive for COVID-19, officials said.  The employee was last in the building on Nov. 24, and is isolating at home. According to the CDC, 71-year-old Persichilli is at higher risk of severe effects from the virus. She will not be partic…
COVID-19: Edgewater Condo Association Institutes Fines, Suspensions For Face Mask Violators COVID-19: Edgewater Condo Association Institutes Fines, Suspensions For Face Mask Violators
Covid-19: Edgewater Condo Association Institutes Fines, Suspensions For Face Mask Violators An Edgewater condominium association has instituted fines and a possible suspension of membership privileges for any residents or guests caught not wearing a face mask in common areas amid a spike in COVID-19 cases in New Jersey. “Although the overwhelming majority of neighbors have been compliant, it has come to our attention that an increasing number of residents and their guests have not been wearing face masks in the common areas,” the Hudson Harbor Condominium Association’s Board of Directors wrote in a letter to owners and tenants. “As we’ve previously reminded everyone, masks are MAN…
COVID-19: Pfizer Boasts Vaccine Candidate That's More Than 90% Effective COVID-19: Pfizer Boasts Vaccine Candidate That's More Than 90% Effective
Covid-19: Pfizer Boasts Vaccine Candidate That's More Than 90% Effective More reliable than the flu shot? Pfizer on Monday trumpeted a COVID-19 vaccine candidate as more than 90% effective – nearly three times better than the effectiveness of last season’s influenza vaccine. Pfizer said it hopes to have 50 million doses of the free vaccine ready by the end of this year and as many as 1.3 billion doses available next year to fight the deadly global pandemic. Two doses per person of BNT162b2 would be necessary, said the Manhattan-based drug maker, which teamed up with BioNTech of Germany to develop the booster. Pfizer plans to ask the federal Food and Drug Admini…
COVID-19: Another North Jersey School District Closes Until January 2021 COVID-19: Another North Jersey School District Closes Until January 2021
Covid-19: Another North Jersey School District Closes Until January 2021 Another North Jersey school district has closed all schools until January 2021. Garfield Superintendent Anna Sciacca sent a letter to parents last week saying the district has reevaluated plans to reopen for in-person instruction. "Garfield has experienced the highest spike in number of positive cases in Bergen County, having recorded 155 positive cases of Covid-19 in the month of October," Sciacca said. "The data also indicates that the positive cases are now more prominent among younger individuals, including schoolaged children. Based upon this information, the local Depa…
CANCELLED: Risky Halloween Activities Banned In These North Jersey Towns CANCELLED: Risky Halloween Activities Banned In These North Jersey Towns
Cancelled: Risky Halloween Activities Banned In These North Jersey Towns While Gov. Phil Murphy gave trick-or-treating the green light this year, some towns are giving it the red light amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Halloween activities such as trick-or-treating, trunk-or-treating, parties, carnivals, or festivals with large crowds were banned in several towns. The first to do so was Bound Brook. The borough's OEM coordinator on Oct. 7 put out a memo saying trick-or-treating, trunk-or-treating, hay rides, haunted houses, parties and large gatherings would not be permitted. Virtual activities, drive-thru events and family activities were allowed, though. The f…
LAWSUIT: 65 Atlantic City Firefighters Exposed To COVID-19 Followed 'Ineffective' Approach LAWSUIT: 65 Atlantic City Firefighters Exposed To COVID-19 Followed 'Ineffective' Approach
Lawsuit: 65 Atlantic City Firefighters Exposed To Covid-19 Followed 'Ineffective' Approach The Atlantic City firefighters union has filed a lawsuit saying the city took an "ineffective approach" to handling the COVID-19 pandemic after 65 firefighters were exposed to the virus. The city arranged rapid tests for firefighters directly exposed to six others who tested positive, and instructed those who tested negative to return to work, according to the suit filed in Atlantic County Superior Court. Filed by Local 198, the suit calls the approach to handling the virus "ineffective," and " jeopardized the health and safety of all firefighters, their families, and the general publi…
COVID-19: CDC Releases Halloween Guidelines For Trick-Or-Treating COVID-19: CDC Releases Halloween Guidelines For Trick-Or-Treating
Covid-19: CDC Releases Halloween Guidelines For Trick-Or-Treating New guidelines for trick-or-treating on Halloween have been released by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). The guidance was published on the CDC website Monday night, Sept. 21. "Many traditional Halloween activities can be high-risk for spreading viruses," the CDC said. "There are several safer, alternative ways to participate in Halloween.  "If you may have COVID-19 or you may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, you should not participate in in-person Halloween festivities and should not give out candy to trick-or-treaters." The CDC offered several …
COVID-19: FDU Florham Park Student Tests Positive COVID-19: FDU Florham Park Student Tests Positive
Covid-19: FDU Florham Park Student Tests Positive Several Fairleigh Dickinson University students and staff members are being quarantined after one student tested positive for COVID-19 at the Florham Park campus -- just one day after some classes had resumed in the classroom. The student had lived in the Park Avenue residence halls, NorthJersey.com reports. Students in the hall were made aware of the positive test in an email Tuesday, the report says. The following morning, the positive test was posted to FDU’s website alongside official quarantine procedures. "That student is no longer in the residence hall and is currently in isolation…
Justice Department Considers Whether Murphy, Cuomo COVID Nursing Home Policies Killed Thousands Justice Department Considers Whether Murphy, Cuomo COVID Nursing Home Policies Killed Thousands
Justice Department Considers Whether Murphy, Cuomo COVID Nursing Home Policies Killed Thousands U.S. Justice Department officials said they are trying to determine whether COVID-19 policies of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo “may have resulted in the deaths of thousands of elderly nursing home residents." Federal authorities said they hadn't launched an investigation. Rather, they said, they're conducting preliminary inquiries into COVID policies in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan while considering a possible civil rights investigation under a federal law that protects the rights of residents in state-run nursing homes, among others. Letters…
Central Jersey Doctor Reports Patients Reinfected With Coronavirus Central Jersey Doctor Reports Patients Reinfected With Coronavirus
Central Jersey Doctor Reports Patients Reinfected With Coronavirus Coronavirus antibodies won't keep you from getting the virus again, says a Central Jersey doctor reporting that at least two of his patients have.been reinfected with coronavirus after testing negative for months in between. Dr. Stuart Ditchek, who treats patients in Deal and surrounding parts of Monmouth County, said in a Wednesday night video posted here on YouTube, "We now have two cases that are reinfected that I am personally connected with." Ditchek said the first patient had COVID-19 a few months ago, tested negative for months in between, went to a party last weekend, and then teste…
New Rules: Here Are The Guidelines For NJ's Personal Care Businesses New Rules: Here Are The Guidelines For NJ's Personal Care Businesses
New Rules: Here Are The Guidelines For NJ's Personal Care Businesses New Jersey's personal care businesses are going to look a whole lot different. Set to reopen after the COVID-19 shutdown June 22, the salons and parlors will be operating under a new set of standards, released by the state's Division of consumer Affairs. The guidelines apply to beauty salons, barber shops, makeup shops, day and medical spas (not saunas, steam rooms or bathing facilities), electrology facilities, hair braiding shops, massage parlors, nail salons, tanning salons and tattoo parlors. Screening customers and staff no more than 24 hours before a scheduled appointment and immed…
COVID-19 Cases Reported At Cape May Coast Guard Training Center COVID-19 Cases Reported At Cape May Coast Guard Training Center
Covid-19 Cases Reported At Cape May Coast Guard Training Center A Coast Guard Training Center Cape May recruit and a civilian staff member tested positive for COVID-19. All recruits from company U-198 were tested on June 3 as part of coronavirus medical surveillance on all incoming recruits in the Restriction of Movement (ROM) plan, designed to mitigate risk of potential infection, officials said. As a result, one asymptomatic recruit's test came back positive on June 6, Coast Guard officials said. The clinic on base reported the test results to federal, state and local health officials, CG officials said. The recruit has been isolated and re…