Full Notification

Below is an update from Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla on COVID-19:
 
As mentioned over the weekend, the Hoboken Health Department informed me on Friday night of a very clear rise in COVID-19 cases related to residents traveling to hot spot states with rising infection rates. With the conclusion of the July 4 weekend and residents returning to Hoboken, I am reiterating my urgent appeal: if you traveled to states on New Jersey’s quarantine list, you should quarantine for a full 14 days when you return, and get a COVID-19 test at least 5-7 days after you get back home.  
 
Even if you do not have symptoms but traveled to these states (see full list below), you should still get a test. The majority of those 13 residents who were reported as new COVID-19 cases on Thursday and Friday were asymptomatic when they were tested or reported very mild symptoms. If you traveled to hot spots, you should act under the assumption that you had a high likelihood of infection and take the important precautions of quarantining and getting a COVID-19 test.
 
If you traveled over the July 4 weekend to other states or regions not on the list but may have been in a situation where an exposure could have occurred, such as a large gathering or indoor setting with extended friends or family, I encourage you to also quarantine for 14 days and schedule a COVID-19 test at least 5-7 days after returning. For the safety of our community, and especially Hoboken residents who are elderly or have pre-existing conditions, please do the right thing and take these necessary steps, even if you do not have symptoms.
 
Due to the incubation period of the virus, we won’t fully know the impact of travel from the July 4 weekend for approximately another two weeks. I’ve been in touch with Governor Murphy’s staff who have indicated to me that if rates of infections begin to rise, not only could certain re-openings be put on hold, but our State may again resort to stay-at-home orders to curb a further spread. According to the Governor, today New Jersey had a rate of transmission (the rate COVID-19 spreads from one person to someone else) of over 1.0 for the first time in 10 weeks. In other words, every COVID-19 case is leading to at least one other infection on average.
 
It’s on all of us to take the preventative measures now to prevent this –  limit travel, especially to hot spots, wear face masks, avoid indoor gatherings, and practice social distancing at all practical times.
 
How did we know about the recent trend of travel to hot spot states?
 
As mentioned, 12 of the 13 cases on Thursday and Friday were related to travel to hot spot states. How did we know so quickly? The answer is that we’ve had diligent and efficient contact tracing in real time, every day by the Hoboken Health Department, and we have 15 minute rapid testing with Riverside Medical that gives us the results of COVID-19 testing on the spot - so we aren’t waiting an additional several days to get results.
 
Since the very first day of the first reported COVID-19 case, our Health Department has conducted countless phone calls for contact tracing for every confirmed COVID-19 case. This has, without a doubt, prevented further infections, and likely saved lives. Thanks to Chief Registered Environmental Health Specialist Lynette Medeiros, Health Officer Nancy Tarantino and Director Leo Pellegrini for doing an excellent job in our health office and serving as a model for what contact tracing should be, and to Dr. Brahmbhatt and Riverside Medical for continuing to provide 15-minute rapid tests for our community and helping identify these recent trends.
 
Full list of states on New Jersey’s mandatory quarantine list
 
Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah
 
Getting a COVID-19 test at Riverside Medical
 
As always, to get a rapid, 15-minute test through our partnership with Riverside Medical, please call the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) at 201-420-5621 Monday through Friday from 9 am until 1 pm. The CERT members will then pass along your information to staff at Riverside, who will then schedule you for a test. If you are returning from a trip out of state or the region, please let the CERT team know when you returned and ask for a test at least 5-7 days after the date you came back to Hoboken, to prevent a false negative from getting a test too early for the virus to be detected.
 
If you do not have insurance, the City will pay for the cost of your test. As a reminder, if you traveled to a hot spot, please quarantine for the full 14 days even after receiving a COVID-19 test, regardless of the result.
 
Thank you to the dozens of residents who traveled out of state and called out CERT hotline for a test today, and as always to the CERT volunteers who continue to work around the clock to facilitate appointments.
 
Due to the high demand this week, we also encourage residents to consider alternative locations for tests, including Prompt MD in Hoboken and other public locations throughout the region. Additional nearby testing sites can be found at https://covid19.nj.gov/pages/testing.
 
Impact of COVID-19 in Hoboken
 
The Hoboken Health Department reported an additional four confirmed COVID-19 cases on Saturday, one on Sunday, and one today. Hoboken now has 617 known, confirmed cases with fatalities remaining at 29.
 
Health club regulations
 
At this time, fitness clubs, gymnasiums, yoga and pilates studios, which are all considered health clubs and categorized as “fitness” businesses by the Hoboken Health Department, are only permitted to conduct individual, one on one sessions or with members of the same household in indoor settings. No group classes or semi-group classes are permitted indoors at this time, as specified by the Governor’s Executive Order 157.
 
According to Executive Order 157, the following activities are permitted: “health clubs may open indoor premises to the public to offer individualized indoor instruction by appointment only where an instructor is offering training to an individual, and the individual’s immediate family members, household members, caretakers, or romantic partners. If a health club is offering multiple simultaneous instructions at the same facility, these instructions must take place in separate rooms or, if they take place in the same room, must be separated by a floor-to-ceiling barrier that complies with all fire code requirements.”
 
We continue to encourage outdoor workouts, which are recommend by health experts over indoor workouts and will continue to offer fitness clubs and health studios space in city fields for group workouts.
 
Face masks in playgrounds and parks
 
As mentioned last week, face masks continue to be required for children two years of age and older, as well as all parents or caregivers within all playgrounds in Hoboken.
 
Thank you,
 
Ravi S. Bhalla
Mayor